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Unions, Bargaining and Strikes

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Abstract

Labor disputes are an intriguing feature of the landscape of industrialized economies. Economists have had a long-standing interest in formulating a framework for understanding and analyzing labor disputes. The development of noncooperative bargaining theory provided the tools for a theory of collective bargaining and labor disputes. A general aim of this theoretical development is to inform policy makers of the efficiency and equity effects associated with different labor laws and institutions that govern and shape the collective bargaining process. While this new literature is still evolving, it can already offer many insights into the interplay between policy and the bargaining process. In this chapter, we will provide a sketch of this new collective bargaining theory and illustrate its ability to aid in policy analysis. We will also relate the predictions of the model to existing empirical findings in the literature.

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  • Peter Cramton & Joseph Tracy, 2003. "Unions, Bargaining and Strikes," Papers of Peter Cramton 02ubs, University of Maryland, Department of Economics - Peter Cramton, revised 05 Sep 2002.
    • Handle: RePEc:pcc:pccumd:02ubs
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. A. Mauleon & Vincent Vannetelbosch & Cecilia Vergari, 2014. "Unions' Relative Concerns And Strikes In Wage Bargaining," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(4), pages 374-383, October.
    4. 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.
    5. Schaller, Zachary & Skaperdas, Stergios, 2020. "Bargaining and conflict with up-front investments: How power asymmetries matter," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 212-225.
    6. John T. Addison & Paulino Teixeira, 2006. "Does the Quality of Industrial Relations Matter for the Macro Economy? A Cross-Country Analysis Using Strikes Data," GEMF Working Papers 2006-02, GEMF, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra.
    7. Paul Duffy & Susan Johnson, 2009. "The Impact of Anti-Temporary Replacement Legislation on Work Stoppages: Empirical Evidence from Canada," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 35(1), pages 99-120, March.
    8. Sergi Jiménez-Martín & Jaume Garcia, 2010. "Initial offers and outcomes in wage bargaining: who wins?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 815-846, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Unions; Bargaining; Strikes; Collective Bargaining;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • J52 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Dispute Resolution: Strikes, Arbitration, and Mediation
    • J58 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Public Policy

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