The Effect of Collective Bargaining Legislation on Strikes and Wages

Peter Cramton (), Morley Gunderson () and Joseph Tracy ()

Papers of Peter Cramton from University of Maryland, Department of Economics - Peter Cramton

Abstract: Using Canadian data on large, private-sector contract negotiations from January 1967 to March 1993, we find that strikes and wages are substantially influenced by labor policy. The data indicate that conciliation policies have largely been ineffective in reducing strike costs. In contrast, general contract reopener provisions appear to make both unions and employers better off by reducing negotiation costs without systematically affecting wage settlements. Legislation banning the use of replacement workers appears to lead to significantly higher negotiation costs and redistribution of quasi-rents from employers to unions.

Keywords: Collective Bargaining; Strikes; Labor Legislation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D82 J52 J58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm and nep-pub
Date: 1999, Revised 1998-07-30
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Published in Review of Economics and Statistics, 81:3, 1999, pages 475-487.

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Related works:
Working Paper: The Effect of Collective Bargaining Legislation on Strikes and Wages (1995)
Journal Article: The Effect Of Collective Bargaining Legislation On Strikes And Wages (1999)
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