The world strike wave

The years since 1969 have seen a major increase in strike activity in nearly all the countries which collect and publish data on strikes. This wave of strikes has largely been caused by strikes over pay, probably connected both with higher rates of price inflation and a higher incidence of direct taxation on households. In some cases, the changed level of strike activity has also led to substantial changes in the structure of strikes, as we shall show for the United Kingdom and Australia, two countries which have suffered most from the strike wave.     

Accounting for Strikes: Evidence from UK Manufacturing in the 1980s

The decrease in the number of strikes in the UK during the 1980s has revived the discussion on the explanatory factors of strike frequency. This paper investigates explanations for the time variation of strike frequency in different industries of British manufacturing. The framework used is that of the joint cost model of strikes; strike frequency is inversely related to strike costs. The results from a panel of 90 manufacturing industries for the period 1983–88 show some support for the hypothesis that strikes decreased because they became more expensive. In the main, we find that factors that affect both employers and employees (such as revenue, inventories) are significant in explaining variations in strike frequency. Factors that affect only employees, however, such as the unemployment rate, are not.     

Strike Outcomes and Wage Settlements in Spain

Abstract. This paper analyses collective bargaining using Spanish firm‐level data. Central to the analysis are the joint determination of wage and strike outcomes in a dynamic framework and the possibility of separate wage equation for strike and non‐strike outcomes. Conditional to strikes taking place, we confirm a negative relationship between strike duration and wage changes in a dynamic context. In this sense, the joint effect of the strike variables is positive for short strikes and negative for long ones (above 20 days). Furthermore, we find selection in wage equations induced by the strike outcome. In this sense, the possibility of wage determination processes being different in strike and non‐strike samples is not rejected by the data. In particular, wage dynamics are of opposite sign in both strike and non‐strike equations. Finally, we find evidence of a 0.33 percentage points wage change strike premium.     

Burnout and work organization in hospital wards: A cross-validation study

The relationship between nurses' work organization in hospital wards and the level of burnout experienced by them was analysed in two independent and highly comparable samples of nurses. The hypothesis that the greater the number of nurses who are responsible for, or are having contact with, one patient during one work shift, the higher their experienced level of burnout will be, was partially confirmed in one of the two samples. We have attributed the contradictory results to differences in the management of nurses' work organization, and warned against fashionable ideas concerning the ideal type of nurses' work organization in hospital wards.     

Do Teacher Strikes Harm Educational Attainment of Students?

This paper investigates the effects of a teacher strike on student achievement. From May 1990 until November 1990 teachers in the French community of Belgium stroked to obtain a salary increase. We exploit the political division of Belgium in a French community and a Flemish community, with similar educational institutions, for estimating the long‐term effects of the strikes. Based on a difference‐in‐differences approach, using data from two different surveys, we find some evidence that the strikes reduced educational attainment and increased class repetition. We also find that the strikes led to a significant reallocation of students to a lower level of higher education. Overall, the results suggest that teacher strikes can lead to substantial costs for those not involved in the conflict.     

The Determinants of Contract Strikes: A Microeconometric Analysis

ABSTRACT: This paper explores the determinants of contract strikes using micro-data referred to a regional economic system (the Veneto region). An effort is made to build up suitable variables to test the hypothesis that strikes are the outcome of an exchange with asymmetric information. The results obtained with a logit model validate the implications of this theory: strikes turn out more likely when a firm is in low state, the industry labour market is tight, and the union is unable to get information from management. Other significant findings are the dependence of strike action on the workforce composition, the industry and location in which the firm operates, its kind of property and productive processes, and the season in which the bargaining takes place.     

Have Industrial Relations in the UK Really Improved?

Abstract. The number of strikes reported in British industry has been on a downward trend over the past two decades, falling in 1998 to its lowest level since records began. This may indicate that relations within British industry have improved; however, the same period has also witnessed a sharp increase in the number of individual ACAS and employment tribunal cases. We discuss possible reasons for the changes in the patterns of industrial unrest over time and use individual micro‐data to examine whether the observed decline in strike activity has actually been associated with an improvement in perceptions of workplace industrial relations.     

An Econometric Analysis of Strike Activity in the Brazilian Industrial Sector

A data set on strike activity for Brazil during the period between 1983 and 1993 is used to produce results based on statistical methods of frequency and duration analysis. The obtained results of frequency and duration of strikes, including their relationships with some macroeconomic variables, are compared with ones from similar studies using data from the USA and Canada. The comparison shows that there seems to be a common pattern of results in these countries. An explanation for the observed features of these patterns is then sought in the context of game‐theoretic models of bargaining, and suggestions for future research in the area are given.     

A Heuristic Risk Assessment Technique for Birdstrike Management at Airports

Collisions between birds and aircraft (birdstrikes) have caused the loss of at least 88 aircraft and 243 lives in world civil aviation. Conservative estimates suggest that more routine damage and delays following birdstrikes cost the industry and its insurers US$1.2-1.5 billion per year. The majority of strikes happen close to airports and most countries have regulations that require airport managers to control the birdstrike risk on their property. Birdstrike prevention has, however, lagged behind other aspects of flight safety in the development and implementation of risk assessment protocols, possibly because of the inherent difficulty in quantifying the variability in the populations and behavior of the various bird species involved. This article presents a technique that uses both national and airport-specific data to evaluate risk by creating a simple probability-times-severity matrix. It uses the frequency of strikes reported for different bird species at a given airport over the preceding five years as a measure of strike probability, and the proportion of strikes with each species that result in damage to aircraft, in the national birdstrike database, as a measure of likely severity. Action thresholds for risk levels for particular bird species are then defined, above which the airport should take action to reduce the risk further. The assessment is designed for airports where the reporting and collation of birdstrike events is reasonably consistent over time and where a bird hazard management program of some sort is already in place. This risk assessment is designed to measure risk to the airport as a business rather than risk to the traveling passenger individually. It therefore takes no account of aircraft movement rate in the calculations and is aimed at minimizing the number of damaging incidents rather than concentrating on catastrophic events. Once set up at an airport, the technique is simple to implement for nonexperts, and it allows managers to focus bird control resources on the species causing the greatest risk, hence maximizing the return on investment. This protocol is now being successfully used at major airports in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world.     

Conflict,collaboration and commitment in British industrial relations

In this article, the author takes to task those who use the indicator of “strike activity” to measure the state of industrial relations. The case study is specifically that of the United Kingdom, but it has applications elsewhere as well.When this is done, and when it is pointed out that such a measure ignores complexities like the distribution curve of strikes and the qualitative gains from negotiations, it becomes clear that strike-prone British industry is a chimera.Nonetheless, Marchington warns against complacency. Even techniques of increased employee involvement and workplace flexibility, like briefing committees and quality circles, may not bring equal benefits to employers and employees.     

Union Power in a Welfare State

Abstract. Most West European countries have suffered from stagflation for many years. Mainstream economics has debated the question in particular in terms of the demand and supply of goods, labour and capital. But in recent contributions a new element has been introduced: the institutional structure of the economy as a source of imbalances. In this article we focus on the institutions of the labour market. For more than a century West European unions have been struggling to transform market economies into a more efficient and just order. Moral persuasion, strikes, and revolutionary threats were their main weapons. After the Second World War governments yielded to the pressure by building up, together with the unions, a welfare state. During the sixties however, the struggle was renewed, although the governments continued to improve the social security system and maintained their responsibility for full employment. A short sketch will be given of the ideological struggle during the first half of the twentieth century, leading to a significant institutional change: the transformation of a system of private wage bargaining into a collective wage bargaining system. Then the neoclassical, the Marxist and the Keynesian view on the effects of union power on the economic performance of a market economy and of a welfare state will be presented. The conclusion is drawn that the methods required to transform a market economy into a welfare state are anomalies as soon as a welfare state is more or less realized. This is particularly so, because the transformation of a welfare state into a centrally planned economy cannot be considered desirable. In present circumstances, it would be appropriate to pay more attention to the design of an extensive system of mediation and arbitrage to reduce the use of the strike weapon.     

An Empirical Analysis of Strike Durations in Ghana from 1980 to 2004

Abstract. This paper provides a seminal analysis of strike activity for an African country in investigating the determinants of strike durations in Ghana over the period 1980–2004. The empirical approach uses a set of well‐known parametric accelerated failure time strike duration models. There is a broad consensus among the different empirical models about the role exerted on average strike duration by strike size, the rate of inflation, enterprise ownership, and political governance. However, evidence on the relationship between strike durations and business cycle activity in Ghana is less clear‐cut.     

Perceived physical work capacity, stress, sleep disturbance and occupational accidents among firefighters working during a strike

Fire-fighting and rescue work are arranged in such a way that various kinds of accidents and catastrophes can be handled. In an understaffed situation, such as a strike, this goal may not be met. The objective of this study was to investigate factors associated with perceived physical work capacity, stress, sleep disturbance, and occupational accidents among firefighters who remained at work during an extended strike. A cross-sectional questionnaire study was carried out among 543 firefighters (83% of the target group) in 71 fire brigades in Finland. After the strike had lasted for 9 to 11 weeks, most of the firefighters perceived their physical work capacity to be rather good or very good. Stress increased along with a decreasing number of personnel in a crew (OR= 2.3, CI= 1.0-5.3, for less than 75% of a normal crew vs. normal crew) and with decreasing number of personnel in a shift (OR= 2.4, CI= 1.1-5.4, for less than 25% of normal shift vs. normal shift). Sleep disturbance was reported to occur as soon as the total working time exceeded 50 h/week. Working more than 70 h/week increased the risk of occupational accidents almost 4-fold compared with working no more than 50 h/week. These results suggest that exceptional situations, such as a strike, are a challenge to human capacity. With time, increased stress and sleep disturbance may lead to serious consequences.     

Perceived physical work capacity,stress, sleep disturbance and occupational accidents among firefighters working during a strike

Fire-fighting and rescue work are arranged in such a way that various kinds of accidents and catastrophes can be handled. In an understaffed situation, such as a strike, this goal may not be met. The objective of this study was to investigate factors associated with perceived physical work capacity, stress, sleep disturbance, and occupational accidents among firefighters who remained at work during an extended strike. A cross-sectional questionnaire study was carried out among 543 firefighters (83% of the target group) in 71 fire brigades in Finland. After the strike had lasted for 9 to 11 weeks, most of the firefighters perceived their physical work capacity to be rather good or very good. Stress increased along with a decreasing number of personnel in a crew (OR= 2.3, CI= 1.0-5.3, for less than 75% of a normal crew vs. normal crew) and with decreasing number of personnel in a shift (OR= 2.4, CI= 1.1-5.4, for less than 25% of normal shift vs. normal shift). Sleep disturbance was reported to occur as soon as the total working time exceeded 50 h/week. Working more than 70 h/week increased the risk of occupational accidents almost 4-fold compared with working no more than 50 h/week. These results suggest that exceptional situations, such as a strike, are a challenge to human capacity. With time, increased stress and sleep disturbance may lead to serious consequences.     

The ends justify the means: The ethical reasoning of environmental public interest groups and their actions

There has been a documented, growing radicalism in the actions of some environmental public interest groups in recent years. In particular, groups pursuing the rights of animals and groups working for the environment have increased their militancy and action. What strikes these authors as curious is the total lack of debate and scholarly inquiry within the management profession over the ethics and tactics of these groups. The purpose of this analysis is to explore the ethics of public interest group activity, offer reasons for the lack of analysis by management researchers, and propose a modest research agenda for future investigations into the ethics of public interest groups.     

Transportation after deregulation

For 40 years U.S. airlines operated under tight government control. Deregulation has put them in competition in an open market where they have had to become more efficient to compete. They have also had to bear the consequences of the—until the recent levelling off—rocketing price of fuel, a world-wide recession and a damaging strike of traffic controllers. However, services have increased, fares have stabilized and been pared down and adjusted to the market. The authors trace the strategic trends consequent on deregulation, the necessity for a change in company values and the importance of technological innovation.     

Optimal stock option schemes for managers

This paper analyzes which stock option scheme best aligns the interests of a firm’s manager and shareholders when both are risk-averse. We consider granting to the manager a basic fixed salary and one of the following four options: European, Parisian, Asian and American options. Choosing the strike of the options optimally, the shareholders can mostly implement a first best solution with all payoff schemes. The American option scheme best aligns the interests of the manager and the shareholders in the most common case in which the strike price equals the grant-date fair market value.     

Dynamic Models for the Time Series of Industrial Conflict in the Labour Market

ABSTRACT: In the aim to investigate the behaviour of some indicators for the industrial conflict and to detect the relation between such variables and the cost of labour in Italy, this paper suggests the use of Box-Jenkins’time series analysis. By fitting a different stochastic process for each series, it can be shown that every indicator gives a different kind of information about the industrial conflict, so that they can't be indifferently substituted by each other. In a second step, cross correlation function estimates between cost of labour and each indicator suggest the different role played by 'strike frequency’and strike duration during any contract renewal.     

基于Fréchet Copula的欧式脆弱期权定价

运用Fréchet Copula和相关性测度Kendallτ来刻画脆弱期权行权概率与对手方违约之间的相关结构,并给出了欧式脆弱看涨期权价格的闭形式表达式.然后由Kendallτ和标的资产价格与执行价格比率的不同数值,对欧式脆弱看涨期权的价格进行了数值计算和敏感性分析.结果表明,随着τ值的增加和标的资产价格与执行价格比率的降低,欧式脆弱看涨期权的价值相应地呈下降趋势,这与理论结果和实际都是相符的.