ERIC Number: EJ1221808
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Aug
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0049-1241
EISSN: N/A
Power Law Distributions and the Size Distribution of Strikes
Campolieti, Michele
Sociological Methods & Research, v48 n3 p561-587 Aug 2019
Using Canadian data from 1976 to 2014, I study the size distribution of strikes with three alternative measures of strike size: the number of workers on strike, strike duration in calendar days, and the number of person calendar days lost to a strike. I use a maximum likelihood framework that provides a way to estimate distributions, evaluate model fit, and also test against alternative distributions. I consider a few theories that can create power law distributions in strike size, such as the joint costs model that posits strike size is inversely proportional to dispute costs. I find that the power law distribution fits the data for the number of lost person calendar days relatively well and is also more appropriate than the lognormal distribution. I also discuss the implications of my findings from a methodological, research, and policy perspective.
Descriptors: Strikes, Foreign Countries, Unions, Collective Bargaining, Contracts, Costs, Wages, Public Sector, Private Sector, Employees, Statistical Distributions
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A