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Strikes are more common in countries with majoritarian electoral systems

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  • Kåre Vernby

Abstract

Strikes are more common in those OECD countries where the legislature is elected in single member districts (SMD) than in those where it is elected by proportional representation (PR). Furthermore, more working days are lost due to industrial conflict in countries with SMD. I suggest a politico-economic explanation for these rarely noticed empirical regularities. Further empirical testing – including controls drawn from previous strike research – reveals that they hold up in a variety of econometric specifications. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007

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  • Kåre Vernby, 2007. "Strikes are more common in countries with majoritarian electoral systems," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 132(1), pages 65-84, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:132:y:2007:i:1:p:65-84
    DOI: 10.1007/s11127-006-9134-9
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    Cited by:

    1. Massimiliano Castellani & Luca Fanelli & Marco Savioli, 2013. "Government Fiscal Efforts vs. Labour Union Strikes: It Takes Two to Tango," Working Paper series 33_13, Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis, revised Jan 2014.
    2. M. Rodwan Abouharb & Benjamin O. Fordham, 2020. "Trade and Strike Activity in the Postwar United States," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-25, October.

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