Labour Productivity and Strike Activity in British Manufacturing Industries: Some Quantitative Evidence
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.1989.tb00345.x |
| Date | 01 November 1989 |
| Published date | 01 November 1989 |
| Author | K. G. Knight |
British Journal
of
lndrrstrial Relations
273
November
1989
0007-1080
$3.00
Labour Productivity and Strike Activity
in British Manufacturing Industries:
Some
Quantitative Evidence
K.
G.
Knight*
Strikes used
to
happen
so
often that they became known as the British disease.
The damage they did
to
industry was one
of
the reasons Britain started
to
slip
into
hard times
20
years ago.
(Eiirly
Tiriies.
children's newspaper,
18
May
1988)
I.
AIMS AND
RESULTS
The aim of this study is to provide
a
test
of
the effects of strike activity
on
labour productivity. The test uses a simple production function method. The
full technical details can be found in the Appendix. The method involves
estimating a production function
of
the type shown
in
Figure
1
and testing
B
Positive displacement
A
Zero
displacement
C
4
Negative displacement
Person-hours
FIGURE
I:
The
Production Function
and
the Displacement Effect
of
Strike Activity
*University
of
Warwick
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