The Effects of “ Right to Work ” Laws on Wages : Evidence from the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 ∗

This paper uses the details of an historical setting in which the introduction of “right to work” laws was arguably exogenous the period following the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947 to produce credibly identified estimates of the effects of these laws on wages. The average effect of right to work laws on wages across all sectors of the economy is likely small and slightly negative. Some evidence indicates wage effects are more negative within the highly unionized sector. ∗I would like to thank Abigail Wozniak for her advice on this paper and Daniel Hungerman, James Sullivan, and seminar participants at the University of Notre Dame for helpful comments. All remaining errors are my own.