IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/copoec/v34y2023i4d10.1007_s10602-023-09396-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Hayek on labor unions and restraint of trade

Author

Listed:
  • Shigeki Kusunoki

    (Sophia University)

Abstract

Friedrich A. Hayek thoroughly criticizes labor unions in Sect. 18 of The Constitution of Liberty published in 1960 and insists in the same section that closed-shop contracts should be illegal. He also views yellow-dog contracts, which were designed as countermeasures against the labor unions, as illegal. However, it has been pointed out that, according to Hayek’s social philosophy, neither the closed-shop contract nor the yellow-dog contract should be seen as legal issues, as they are based on free will between the parties and have no compulsory elements. The key to solving this dilemma is in understanding how Hayek views the core concepts of the U.S. Antitrust Law, namely, restraint of trade and monopoly. The aim of this article is to examine the theoretical structure of Hayek’s arguments on those types of contracts, freedom and coercion, the ‘restraint of trade’ doctrine, and the rule of law. It addresses the important common law issues of freedom, coercion, monopoly, restraint of trade, and the rule of law.

Suggested Citation

  • Shigeki Kusunoki, 2023. "Hayek on labor unions and restraint of trade," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 598-612, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:copoec:v:34:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1007_s10602-023-09396-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10602-023-09396-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10602-023-09396-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10602-023-09396-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ray Richardson, 1996. "Coercion and the Trade Unions: a Reconsideration of Hayek," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 34(2), pages 219-236, June.
    2. Charles W. Baird, 2007. "Hayek on Labor Unions: Coercion and the Rule of Law," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 23(Fall 2007), pages 31-51.
    3. Ray Richardson & B. C. Roberts, 1997. "Hayek on Trade Unions: Social Philosopher or Propagandist?," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Stephen F. Frowen (ed.), Hayek: Economist and Social Philosopher, chapter 12, pages 259-280, Palgrave Macmillan.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Charles W. Baird, 2008. "Hayek on Labor Unions: Economic and Social Consequences," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 23(Spring 20), pages 19-37.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor Unions; Antitrust; Coercion; Restraint of trade; F.A. Hayek;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K15 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Civil Law; Common Law
    • K21 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Antitrust Law
    • K31 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Labor Law
    • L12 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Monopoly; Monopolization Strategies
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:copoec:v:34:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1007_s10602-023-09396-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.