EMPIRICAL-EVIDENCE ON THE UNION FREE-RIDER PROBLEM - DO RIGHT-TO-WORKLAWS MATTER

This study provides detailed statistics by state, industry, occupation , and worker characteristics on private sector wage and salary workers covered by union collective bargaining agreements brit who are not un ion members. A distinction is made between those workers who value the benefits of coverage move than she cost of membership, the true free riders, and those who do not, the induced riders. A probit union membe rship equation is estimated on a sample which excludes the covered non members. Predicted probabilities are then calculated from the estimate d model, yielding a quantifiable measure of the true free-rider proble m.