Cyclical Fluctuations in Strike Activity

Sheena McConnell

ILR Review, 1990, vol. 44, issue 1, 130-143

Abstract: Using a set of data on contracts and strikes for the period 1970–81, the author distinguishes among the roles of aggregate business conditions, labor market conditions, and product market conditions in the determination of strike incidence and duration. Strike incidence is found to be highest in industries that are depressed relative to the rest of the economy but in regions with low unemployment. This finding is consistent with the theory that the cost of a strike to a firm increases with the demand for its product and the cost of a strike to the union increases with unemployment. Another finding, however, is that strikes are longest in industries that are booming relative to the rest of the economy.

Date: 1990
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