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Unrest, layoffs, and productivity at a Bangladeshi sweater factory

Author

Listed:
  • Akerlof, Robert
  • Ashraf, Anik
  • Macchiavello, Rocco
  • Rabbani, Atonu

Abstract

Conflicts between management and workers are common in newly industrializing countries. Combining ethnographic, survey and administrative records from a Bangladeshi sweater factory, we study how workers responded when management laid off a quarter of the workers following a period of labor unrest. After the unrest, the factory experienced a substantial drop in productivity. Among surviving workers, those who likely had strong social connections – friends – among fired co-workers suffered relatively larger declines in productivity. Additional evidence on potential mechanism indicates a deliberate shading of effort to punish the factory’s management.

Suggested Citation

  • Akerlof, Robert & Ashraf, Anik & Macchiavello, Rocco & Rabbani, Atonu, 2026. "Unrest, layoffs, and productivity at a Bangladeshi sweater factory," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 129978, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:129978
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    File URL: https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/129978/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General
    • M50 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - General
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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