Stone Inequality & Social Policy Seminar: Heather Sarsons

Social Learning and the Dynamics of Union Support (joint with Ellora Derenoncourt, Arin Dube, Suresh Naidu, and Niharika Singh)

Heather Sarsons, Associate Professor, University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Abstract: While the decline in unionization in the U.S. has been gradual over the last several decades, union growth has occurred in spurts, such as the recent wave of organizing in retail and service sectors. We combine observational data from recent union elections with a large-scale information experiment involving 9,000 employed retail and service workers to study the dynamics underlying these growth episodes. Our findings point to social learning as a key driver. Observationally, past union victories strongly predict future wins. Experimentally, providing workers with information about recent union wins significantly increases their willingness to support unionization by raising beliefs about coworker support and the perceived benefits of unionizing. In contrast, information about labor market tightness---capturing economic conditions and outside options---primarily shifts beliefs about private benefits but has little effect on coworker support and only modestly increases union support. Responses to union information are strongest among those who receive less information or news about unions, and those with low baseline beliefs about coworker support, patterns consistent with social learning. Together, these results provide causal evidence that social learning, rather than economic fundamentals alone, plays a central role in triggering bursts of union growth. 

Heather Sarsons is an associate professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She has research interests in labour and behavioural economics, with a focus on understanding the sources of gender inequality in labour markets.