"In this paper, we have provided theory and evidence concerning union rent seeking and its effects on firm market value and intangible capital investment. Consistent with our hypothesis that union rent seeking can take the form of a distortionary tax on the returns to long-lived investments, we find that intangible R&D investments add relatively less to the market value of firms in more unionized industries. Firms in highly unionized industries respond by investing less intensively in R & D."