Unionization and wages: analysis by quantiles

The objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of unionization on wages in a sample of the Brazilian population in 2015. Using data from the National Household Survey (PNAD) and its supplement on labor relations and unionization, we investigated - using econometric techniques (ordinary least squares, propensity score matching and unconditional quantile regressions) - the hypotheses that being unionized affects wages and that there is an extra benefit for more participative entities relative to affiliates. The results show that, on average, there is a positive relationship between unions and wages. It was also verified that an increase in total unionization would reduce the wages of the lowest earners, but increase those of the majority of the population. In addition, unions that participated in an agreement in the last 365 days generated average gains of 4.3%.