LABORS SHARE, MARKET-STRUCTURE AND TRADE-UNIONISM

Using British manufacturing data this paper tests Kalecki's degree of monopoly theory of the determination of factor incomes. The paper demo nstrates how both product market structure, captured by the rive firm concentration ratio, and trade unionism, measured by collective bargai ning agreements, shape production worker wage share. We report estimat es in which it emerges that there is an important role for seller conc entration in influencing wage share, but the estimated trade union cov erage results are less robust. Our tests reveal that once idiosyncrati c industry effects and accounted for the union effect on wage share di sappears.