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Organization matters: Trade union behavior during peace and war

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  • Meisenzahl, Ralf R.

Abstract

This paper employs a comparative institutional analysis to explain the origins of different trade union organizational structures in Germany and Great Britain as of 1913 and their macroeconomic implications. It shows that complementarities between the structures of employer and union organizations account for these differences. Therefore, I model coordinated industrywide unions and centralized employer organizations in Germany and fragmented unions and decentralized employer organizations in Britain as two equilibria of a union–employer game. I use World War I as a natural experiment to study the impact of union structure on union strategies and bargaining outcomes during the war in a union–government game and discuss long-run ramifications of the bargaining outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Meisenzahl, Ralf R., 2015. "Organization matters: Trade union behavior during peace and war," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 919-937.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:43:y:2015:i:4:p:919-937
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2015.03.006
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Dimick, Matthew & Rao, Neel, 2016. "Wage-setting institutions and corporate governance," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 854-883.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trade unions; Institutional change; World War I;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
    • N30 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • N44 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Europe: 1913-

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