Industrial Relations and Productivity Growth: A Comparative Perspective
Author(s)
Buchele, Robert A.; Christiansen, Jens
Abstract
This paper presents a theoretical model of the relationship between industrial relations systems and productivity, and applies that model in an empirical investigation of productivity growth rates in the leading industrial countries. The model challenges the assumption, common in other recent theories, that productivity depends largely on the effort exerted by individual workers, and focuses instead on the social determinants of productivity. The empirical work explores the relationship between productivity growth, unemployment, the extent of cooperation in labor-management relations, and the strength of workers rights, in the “Group of Seven” nations.
