Jakob Molinder
Researcher
Social Democracy and the Decline of Strikes
Author
Summary, in English
This paper tests if a strong labor movement leads to fewer industrial conflicts. The focus is on Sweden between the first general election in 1919 and the famous Saltsjöbaden Agreement in 1938, a formative period when the country transitioned from fierce labor conflicts to a state of industrial peace. Using panel data techniques to analyze more than 2,000 strikes in 103 Swedish towns, we find that a shift of municipal political majority towards the Social Democrats led to a significant decline in local strike activity, but only in towns where union presence was strong. The strike-reducing mechanism is related to corporatist explanations rather than increased social spending in municipal budgets.
Department/s
- Historical labour markets
- Growth, technological change, and inequality
- Centre for Economic Demography
Publishing year
2021
Language
English
Publication/Series
Lund papers in Economic history
Issue
2021:222
Full text
Document type
Working paper
Topic
- Economic History
Keywords
- Power Resource Theory
- industrial conflicts
- strikes
- labor markets
- local politics
- N34
- N44
- H53
- J51
Status
Published