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The Times


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Unions do hurt profits, but not productivity, and they remain a bulwark against a widening wealth gap

  • Written by: Chris Doucouliagos, Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, Deakin Business School and Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University
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This article is part of an election series on wages, industrial relations, Labor and the union movement ahead of the 2019 federal election. You can read other pieces in the series here.


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