The role of unions in the Twenty-first century : a report for the Fondazione Rodolfo Debenedetti / edited by Tito Boeri, Agar Brugiavini, Lars Calmfors, with Alison Booth [and others].

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Focusing on the role and functions of trade unions, this collection of essays by a team of international scholars looks to the future and explores their broader political and social remits and responsibilities.

Print version record.

List of Cotributors -- Part I. The Future of Collective Bargaining in Europe -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Union Membership -- 2.1. Membership trends in the twentieth century: increased cross-national variation -- 2.2. Union membership decline -- 2.3. Why join a trade union? -- 2.4. Cyclical explanations of union membership developments -- 2.5. Structural explanations -- 2.6. Institutional explanations -- 2.7. Centralization and unionization -- 2.8. Some additional empirical evidence on union membership -- 2.9. New organizing strategies -- 2.10. Conclusions.

3. Wage Bargaining, Union Power, and Economic Integration -- 3.1. Review of literature on union wage effects: theory and evidence -- 3.2. The impact of trade, integration, and FDI in Europe on union bargaining power -- 3.3. Conclusions -- 4. Wider Dimensions of Unions' Presence -- 4.1. What else do European unions do? -- 4.2. How do they do it? -- 4.3. The future of union presence -- 4.4. Conclusions -- 5. Bargaining Structure and Macroeconomic Performance -- 5.1. The conventional wisdom -- 5.2. The interaction between bargaining structure and economic policy.

5.3. Bargaining structure and macroeconomic shocks -- 5.4. Bargaining structure and the EMU -- 5.5. Conclusions -- 6. The Future Prospects for Trade Unions in Europe -- 6.1. Prospects for union membership -- 6.2. Four scenarios for collective bargaining in the future -- 6.3. Possible union strategies -- Comments -- Villy Bergström -- Robert Flanagan -- References -- Part II. What do Unions do to the Welfare States? -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Unions' Involvement in the Welfare State -- 2.1. Unions and the welfare state development -- 2.2. Unions and membership structure.

2.3. Unions as a political movement -- 2.4. Unions and social insurance administration -- 2.5. Unions and occupational welfare -- 2.6. Institutional and political veto points -- 3. Unions and Pensions: Theory, Evidence, and Implications -- 3.1. What unions do to pensions: economic theory -- 3.2. The importance of institutional setting -- 3.3. What unions do in practice: empirical evidence on unions and pensions -- 4. Learning from Welfare Reforms: The Case of Public Pensions -- 4.1. Long-term and short-term reform pressures on pay-as-you-go systems -- 4.2. Tax financing or payroll contributions?

4.3. Reversing early retirement -- 4.4. How to calculate benefits fairly -- 4.5. Privatization by mandated or voluntary occupational pensions? -- 4.6. Towards more funded private pension systems -- 4.7. Unilateral or negotiated reforms? -- 5. Unions and Unemployment Insurance -- 5.1. Unemployment insurance and the demand for union membership -- 5.2. Unemployment insurance, wage bargaining, and unemployment -- 5.3. How do unions influence unemployment insurance policies? -- 5.4. Unemployment insurance reforms -- 5.5. How could a Ghent system help other European countries? -- 6. Conclusions.

English.

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