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Hiring Discrimination Against Pro-union Applicants: The Role of Union Density and Firm Size

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Abstract

We study the causal impact of revealing pro-unionism during the recruitment stage on hiring chances. To this end, we conduct a randomised field experiment in the Belgian labour market. When matched with employer and sector data, the experimentally gathered data enable us to test the heterogeneity of discrimination against pro-union applicants by the union density in the sector and the size of the firm. We find that disclosure of pro-unionism affects hiring chances in a negative way and that—in line with our expectations based on the literature—this negative impact is stronger in highly unionised sectors.

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Notes

  1. There are, however, some exceptions to this finding. See, for instance, the recent evidence on the effect of trade union activities on productivity in Japan provided by Morikawa (2010).

  2. From an empirical point of view, the latter hypothesis is confirmed in an indirect way by Goerke and Pannenberg (2011) finding a negative effect of union membership on individual dismissals in large firms and by Woodhams and Lupton (2006) finding a positive effect of the presence of an HR professional at the firm, which is more common in large firms, on equality policies.

  3. For instance, the Flemish Socialist trade union had a membership of 699423 in 2010 while its youth wing had a membership of only 28285.

  4. \(0.22 = 1 - 1/1.28\).

  5. This proxy was constructed and supplied by Guy Van Gyes (KU Leuven). NACE 1.1 refers to the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community as revised in 2002.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Niels Groothaert for his excellent research assistance. In addition, we are grateful to Sabien Dobbelaere, Glenn Rayp and Walter Van Trier for their useful comments and advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ghent University, Sint-Pietersplein 6, Ghent, Belgium

    Stijn Baert & Eddy Omey

  2. University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

    Stijn Baert

  3. Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain, Belgium

    Stijn Baert

  4. IZA, Bonn, Germany

    Stijn Baert

Authors
  1. Stijn Baert
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  2. Eddy Omey
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Correspondence to Stijn Baert.

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Authorisation: The present research was reviewed and approved by the Ethical Affairs Committee of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Ghent University.

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Baert, S., Omey, E. Hiring Discrimination Against Pro-union Applicants: The Role of Union Density and Firm Size. De Economist 163, 263–280 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10645-015-9252-1

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