Worker Representation and Job Quality

Title: Worker Representation and Job Quality

Abstract: In this paper, we investigate whether granting workers the mandate to representation on the board of directors and cooperation committee improves job quality. Industrial democracy is often mentioned in the public debate as a way to guarantee worker fair treatment in the private sector. Yet, the rarity of such institutional mechanisms and the lack of credible measures of job quality has limited empirical research on the topic. Using a regression discontinuity design and country-wide worker-employer administrative data and nationally representative survey data (N=38,000), we obtain two preliminary results. First, we find that the regulation translates into board-level worker representation (BLWR) only in highly unionised firms. Second, most job quality effects from the mandate are materialised in firms with low degree of unionisation.