How do right to work laws affect the distribution of economic resources? While sociological theories would predict inequality to increase following their passage, previous research finds these laws to be largely inconsequential. The author compiles a unique data set of 77 years of income and wage inequality data from the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. census, the U.S. Union Sourcebook, and the National Labor Relations Board. After replicating inconsistent results from previous studies, the author shows that they mask substantial and robust heterogeneity across local areas. Right to work laws are consequential when passed in times and places where labor has something to lose. They remove the negative association between labor union membership and inequality, with the greatest consequences of right to work passage in highly unionized areas. In total, results suggest that right to work laws work as intended, increasing economic inequality indirectly by lowering labor power resources. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.

中文翻译：

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工作权、电力资源和经济不平等

工作权法如何影响经济资源的分配？虽然社会学理论会预测不平等会随着它们的通过而增加，但之前的研究发现这些规律在很大程度上是无关紧要的。作者汇编了来自美国国税局、美国人口普查、美国工会资料手册和国家劳工关系委员会的 77 年收入和工资不平等数据的独特数据集。在复制了先前研究不一致的结果后，作者表明它们掩盖了局部区域的大量和强大的异质性。工作权法在劳工有损失的时间和地点通过时具有重要意义。它们消除了工会会员资格与不平等之间的负面关联，在高度工会化的地区，工作通过权的后果最大。总的来说，结果表明工作权利法按预期运作，通过降低劳动力资源间接增加了经济不平等。讨论了理论和政策影响。