Mario F. Bognanno

“Chilling” under arbitration and mixed strike-arbitration regimes

This paper investigates the “chilling effect” of arbitration hypothesis using data from public sector collective bargaining activity in Minnesota. Settlement rates under a regime requiring the compulsory arbitration of impasses are compared to rates under a regime permitting a limited right to strike. The authors find a significantly lower settlement rate under the pure arbitration regime. Other factors that could result in this rate differential are discussed. While not ruling out the possibility of unmeasured differences, the authors conclude that the differential is due to differences in regime and not to the confounding factors discussed.

Institutional Turmoil and Strike Activity in Korea

The economic strike literature focuses on rational actors engaging in strike activity to increase their economic outcome. A separate literature emphasizes institutional, behavioural and political reasons for strike activity. While these literatures are rarely integrated, we posit that micro-level institutional turmoil, indexed by the presence of intra-firm union rivalries or outside third-party provo cateurs, and the maturity of the bargaining relationship, are important determi nants of economic strike activity. In three new micro-level data sets from Korea, micro-level institutional turmoil is found to be significantly related to strike activity.

Is Arbitration Habit Forming? The Narcotic Effect of Arbitration Use

This paper explores the existence of structural state dependence in arbitration use where it is legally mandated to resolve labor-management bargaining disputes. Previous studies have found both positive state dependence (the narcotic effect) and negative state dependence. This paper reports a negative state dependence for the Minnesota public sector during the period 1973 to 1980. A weak positive trend in arbitration probabilities and a positive relationship between current arbitration probabilities and the proportion of bargainers engaging in arbitration during the same calendar year are also found. An analysis of the dynamic implications of these findings does not support fears that compulsory arbitration schemes are unstable or lead to arbitration as the dominant settlement mode. Copyright Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini and Blackwell Publishers Ltd 1997.