IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ucp/jlabec/v12y1994i4p524-53.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is Strike Behavior Cyclical?

Author

Listed:
  • Harrison, Alan
  • Stewart, Mark

Abstract

The authors examine cyclicality of strike frequency and incidence using Canadian data on strikes and contracts. Total strike frequency exhibits significant procyclicality, to which within-contract strikes contribute appreciably. Evidence is weaker for procyclical behavior of contract-expiry strikes, both in total and disaggregated by issue. Strike incidence is also procyclical, particularly in manufacturing, though the procyclicality here is confined to strikes over nonwage issues. These results mirror those obtained by analyzing the frequency of strikes in the contract data. Industry-specific cyclical variables positively affect strike incidence in manufacturing but region-specific variables have no effect. Copyright 1994 by University of Chicago Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Harrison, Alan & Stewart, Mark, 1994. "Is Strike Behavior Cyclical?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(4), pages 524-553, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:v:12:y:1994:i:4:p:524-53
    DOI: 10.1086/298361
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/298361
    File Function: full text
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers. See http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/JOLE for details.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1086/298361?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. N/A, 1987. "Calendar of Main Economic Events, 1986," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 119(1), pages 79-93, February.
    2. -, 1988. "Exportaciones y maduración industrial," Oficina de la CEPAL en Montevideo (Estudios e Investigaciones) 28730, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
    3. Harrison, Alan & Stewart, Mark, 1989. "Cyclical Fluctuations in Strike Durations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(4), pages 827-841, September.
    4. N/A, 1987. "Chaptefi III. the British Economy Since 1979," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 122(1), pages 41-46, November.
    5. Gunderson, Morley & Kervin, John & Reid, Frank, 1986. "Logit Estimates of Strike Incidence from Canadian Contract Data," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(2), pages 257-276, April.
    6. David B. Lipsky & Henry S. Farber, 1976. "The Composition of Strike Activity in the Construction Industry," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 29(3), pages 388-404, April.
    7. Jack W. Skeels & Paul McGrath & Gangadha Arshanapalli, 1988. "The Importance of Strike Size in Strike Research," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 41(4), pages 582-591, July.
    8. repec:ilo:ilowps:258783 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. N/A, 1987. "Chapter I. the Home Economy," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 121(1), pages 6-20, August.
    10. anonymous, 1987. "New Zealand economic chronology 1986," Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bulletin, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, vol. 50, march.
    11. Tracy, Joseph S, 1986. "An Investigation into the Determinants of U.S. Strike Activity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(3), pages 423-436, June.
    12. Sheena McConnell, 1990. "Cyclical Fluctuations in Strike Activity," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 44(1), pages 130-143, October.
    13. Ernest H. Jurkat & Dorothy B. Jurkat, 1949. "Economic Function of Strikes," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 2(4), pages 527-545, July.
    14. Vroman, Susan B, 1989. "A Longitudinal Analysis of Strike Activity in U.S. Manufacturing: 1957-1984," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(4), pages 816-826, September.
    15. anonymous, 1987. "Review of domestic and external economy," Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bulletin, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, vol. 50, march.
    16. repec:ilo:ilowps:265729 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Saith A., 1989. "Development strategies and the rural poor," ILO Working Papers 992657293402676, International Labour Organization.
    18. N/A, 1987. "Chapter I. The Home Economy," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 119(1), pages 6-23, February.
    19. N/A, 1987. "Chapter I. The Home Economy," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 120(1), pages 6-20, May.
    20. Wall, Göran, 1988. "Exergy flows in industrial processes," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 197-208.
    21. Cynthia L. Gramm, 1986. "The Determinants of Strike Incidence and Severity: A Micro-Level Study," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 39(3), pages 361-376, April.
    22. N/A, 1987. "Chapter I. the Home Economy," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 122(1), pages 7-23, November.
    23. Ashenfelter, Orley & Johnson, George E, 1969. "Bargaining Theory, Trade Unions, and Industrial Strike Activity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 59(1), pages 35-49, March.
    24. Kennan, John & Wilson, Robert, 1989. "Strategic Bargaining Models and Interpretation of Strike Data," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 4(S), pages 87-130, Supplemen.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gary-Bobo, Robert J. & Jaaidane, Touria, 2014. "Strikes and slowdown in a theory of relational contracts," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 89-116.
    2. Filippo Belloc, 2019. "Labor Conflict at the Workplace: Do Dismissal Regulations Matter?," Department of Economics University of Siena 806, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    3. Peter Cramton & Morley Gunderson & Joseph Tracy, 1999. "The Effect Of Collective Bargaining Legislation On Strikes And Wages," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(3), pages 475-487, August.
    4. Henri Fraisse & Francis Kramarz & Corinne Prost, 2015. "Labor Disputes and Job Flows," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 68(5), pages 1043-1077, October.
    5. Sadat Reza & Paul Rilstone, 2016. "Semiparametric Efficiency Bounds and Efficient Estimation of Discrete Duration Models with Unspecified Hazard Rate," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(5), pages 693-726, May.
    6. William H. Greene & Ana P. Martins, 2002. "Striking Features of the Labor Market," EERI Research Paper Series EERI RP 2002/08, Economics and Econometrics Research Institute (EERI), Brussels.
    7. William H. Greene & Ana P. Martins, 2013. "Striking Features of the Labor Market: Theory," Journal of Economics and Econometrics, Economics and Econometrics Society, vol. 56(2), pages 1-24.
    8. Gregory Finley, 2010. "Strike Lengths: Correcting for Prestrike Announcements and the Ratio of Bargaining Size to Firm Size," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 31(4), pages 307-321, December.
    9. Paul J. Devereux & Robert A. Hart, 2011. "A Good Time to Stay Out? Strikes and the Business Cycle," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 49(Supplemen), pages 70-92, June.
    10. Sarah Brown & John Sessions, 2000. "Employee militancy in Britain: 1985-1990," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(13), pages 1767-1774.
    11. William H. Greene & Ana P. Martins, 2013. "Striking Features of the Labor Market: Empirical Evidence," Journal of Economics and Econometrics, Economics and Econometrics Society, vol. 56(2), pages 25-53.

    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. Cramton, Peter C & Tracy, Joseph S, 1994. "The Determinants of U.S. Labor Disputes," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(2), pages 180-209, April.
    2. Philip Jung & Moritz Kuhn, 2019. "Earnings Losses and Labor Mobility Over the Life Cycle," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(3), pages 678-724.
    3. Merlo, Antonio, 1997. "Bargaining over Governments in a Stochastic Environment," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 105(1), pages 101-131, February.
    4. Juhn, Chinhui & Murphy, Kevin M, 1997. "Wage Inequality and Family Labor Supply," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(1), pages 72-97, January.
    5. Almeida, Alvaro & Goodhart, Charles & Payne, Richard, 1998. "The Effects of Macroeconomic News on High Frequency Exchange Rate Behavior," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 33(3), pages 383-408, September.
    6. Heaton, John & Lucas, Deborah J, 1996. "Evaluating the Effects of Incomplete Markets on Risk Sharing and Asset Pricing," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(3), pages 443-487, June.
    7. Peter Cramton & Morley Gunderson & Joseph Tracy, 1999. "The Effect Of Collective Bargaining Legislation On Strikes And Wages," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(3), pages 475-487, August.
    8. Suthawan Prukumpai, 2015. "Time-varying Industrial Portfolio Betas under the Regime-switching Model: Evidence from the Stock Exchange of Thailand," Applied Economics Journal, Kasetsart University, Faculty of Economics, Center for Applied Economic Research, vol. 22(2), pages 54-76, December.
    9. Neal, Derek, 1995. "Industry-Specific Human Capital: Evidence from Displaced Workers," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(4), pages 653-677, October.
    10. Coate, Stephen & Morris, Stephen, 1995. "On the Form of Transfers in Special Interests," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(6), pages 1210-1235, December.
    11. Sattinger, Michael, 1995. "General Equilibrium Effects of Unemployment Compensation with Labor Force Participation," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(4), pages 623-652, October.
    12. Feldstein, Martin, 1995. "The Effect of Marginal Tax Rates on Taxable Income: A Panel Study of the 1986 Tax Reform Act," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(3), pages 551-572, June.
    13. Baker, Michael, 1997. "Growth-Rate Heterogeneity and the Covariance Structure of Life-Cycle Earnings," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(2), pages 338-375, April.
    14. William H. Greene & Ana P. Martins, 2002. "Striking Features of the Labor Market," EERI Research Paper Series EERI RP 2002/08, Economics and Econometrics Research Institute (EERI), Brussels.
    15. Mccorriston, Steve & Sheldon, Ian, 1989. "Imperfect Competition, Trade Policy and Processed Agricultural Products," Occasional Papers 232831, Regional Research Project NC-194: Organization and Performance of World Food Systems.
    16. William H. Greene & Ana P. Martins, 2013. "Striking Features of the Labor Market: Theory," Journal of Economics and Econometrics, Economics and Econometrics Society, vol. 56(2), pages 1-24.
    17. Belzil, Christian, 1996. "Relative Efficiencies and Comparative Advantages in Job Search," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 14(1), pages 154-173, January.
    18. Reilly, Kevin T, 1994. "Annual Hours and Weeks in a Life-Cycle Labor Supply Model: Canadian Evidence on Male Behavior," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(3), pages 460-477, July.
    19. Filippo Belloc, 2019. "Labor Conflict at the Workplace: Do Dismissal Regulations Matter?," Department of Economics University of Siena 806, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    20. Michele Campolieti & Robert Hebdon & Benjamin Dachis, 2014. "The Impact of Collective Bargaining Legislation on Strike Activity and Wage Settlements," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 394-429, July.

    More about this item

    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:ucp:jlabec:v:12:y:1994:i:4:p:524-53. 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: Journals Division (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/JOLE .

    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.