2025/09/12 by Dylan Nelson, Nathan Wilmers · 1 voice
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Health Professions · Social Sciences · #Employment and Welfare Studies #Labor Movements and Unions #Labor market dynamics and wage inequality
paper · pdf · doi:10.1177/00197939251365519
openalex publication_date 2025/09/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/22
When employers use input from workers, who benefits? Direct worker voice in production could boost productivity and strengthen the bargaining position of production workers. Or it could be a way that employers appropriate workers’ knowledge and expertise, thereby weakening workers’ position. Using a survey of 30,000 US manufacturing establishments matched to administrative records of worker earnings and business performance, the authors find that employers using worker voice pay workers more and have higher productivity. Even conditional on workers’ human capital and establishment characteristics, workplaces using worker voice pay a small earnings premium. One-third of this premium is attributable to increased productivity; the remaining two-thirds of the premium reflects greater worker bargaining power. This analysis provides evidence that worker voice in production supports increased earnings for production workers.