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Richard B. Freeman and James L. Medoff’s now classic 1984 book, What do unions do? stimulated an enormous theoretical and empirical literature on the economic impact of trade unions. Trade unions continue to be a significant feature of many labour markets, particularly in developing countries, and issues of labour market regulations and labour institutions remain critically important to researchers and policy makers.

The Economic Impact of Unions: A Study of a Research Field and its Findings offers the first comprehensive review, analysis and evaluation of the empirical literature on the microeconomic effects of trade unions. The book applies the tools of meta-regression analysis to identify and quantify the economic impact of trade unions. Meta-regression analysis is used to correct research design faults, the effects of sample selection and model misspecification.

The book makes use of a unique dataset of hundreds of empirical studies and their reported estimates of the microeconomic impact of trade unions. Written by three authors who have been at the forefront of this research field (including the co-author of the original volume, What do unions do?), this book offers a comprehensive overview of a subject that is of huge importance to scholars of labour economics, industrial and employee relations, and human resource management, as well as those with an interest in meta-analysis.