The Cost and Benefits of Collective Bargaining

Abstract

Co-ordination through collective bargaining is recognised as an influential determinant of labour market and macroeconomic performance. This paper provides a systematic review of the empirical literature on the subject. We focus on comparative studies of labour institutions in the OECD area that try to disentangle the impact of different institutional approaches to collective bargaining from other determinants of macroeconomic performance, and review the recent literature on the interaction between labour market institutions and monetary policy.