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From Conflict to Compromise : The importance of mediation in Swedish work stoppages 1907-1927

Enflo, Kerstin LU orcid and Karlsson, Tobias LU (2018) In CEPR working paper series
Abstract
Institutions for prevention and resolution of labor market conflicts were introduced all over the world in the early twentieth century. In this paper we analyze the impact of mediation on compromise outcomes in Swedish labor market conflicts, using a dataset of geo-coded strikes and lockouts from 1907 to 1927. Causality is identified by using the distance from the mediator's residence to the conflict as an instrument. Despite their limited authority and access to economic resources, the presence of mediators in a conflict resulted in about 30 per cent higher probability of a compromise outcome. Mediation was more likely to work as intended in settings where conflicting parties recognized each other and struggled over a prize that could be... (More)
Institutions for prevention and resolution of labor market conflicts were introduced all over the world in the early twentieth century. In this paper we analyze the impact of mediation on compromise outcomes in Swedish labor market conflicts, using a dataset of geo-coded strikes and lockouts from 1907 to 1927. Causality is identified by using the distance from the mediator's residence to the conflict as an instrument. Despite their limited authority and access to economic resources, the presence of mediators in a conflict resulted in about 30 per cent higher probability of a compromise outcome. Mediation was more likely to work as intended in settings where conflicting parties recognized each other and struggled over a prize that could be divided. The results suggest that mediation could have paved the way for a cooperative atmosphere in local labor markets. At the national level such an atmosphere was clearly manifested in the General Agreement in 1938 and with the rise of the Swedish Model. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Working paper/Preprint
publication status
published
subject
keywords
industrial relations, labour market institutions, mediation, strikes, N33, N34, J52
in
CEPR working paper series
pages
64 pages
publisher
Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)
ISSN
0265-8003
project
From Sundsvall to Saltsjöbaden: A regional perspective on strikes at the Swedish labor market
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c680ea69-0e1d-4f29-a8d4-73d431a9570f
alternative location
http://www.cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=12586
date added to LUP
2018-01-12 15:15:53
date last changed
2021-10-01 02:20:00
@misc{c680ea69-0e1d-4f29-a8d4-73d431a9570f,
  abstract     = {{Institutions for prevention and resolution of labor market conflicts were introduced all over the world in the early twentieth century. In this paper we analyze the impact of mediation on compromise outcomes in Swedish labor market conflicts, using a dataset of geo-coded strikes and lockouts from 1907 to 1927. Causality is identified by using the distance from the mediator's residence to the conflict as an instrument. Despite their limited authority and access to economic resources, the presence of mediators in a conflict resulted in about 30 per cent higher probability of a compromise outcome. Mediation was more likely to work as intended in settings where conflicting parties recognized each other and struggled over a prize that could be divided. The results suggest that mediation could have paved the way for a cooperative atmosphere in local labor markets. At the national level such an atmosphere was clearly manifested in the General Agreement in 1938 and with the rise of the Swedish Model.}},
  author       = {{Enflo, Kerstin and Karlsson, Tobias}},
  issn         = {{0265-8003}},
  keywords     = {{industrial relations; labour market institutions; mediation; strikes; N33; N34; J52}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Working Paper}},
  publisher    = {{Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)}},
  series       = {{CEPR working paper series}},
  title        = {{From Conflict to Compromise : The importance of mediation in Swedish work stoppages 1907-1927}},
  url          = {{http://www.cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=12586}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}