Imperfect Information and Strikes: An Analysis of Canadian Experience, 1967–82

To test their hypothesis that the propensity to strike is affected less by the actual balance of bargaining power than by the parties' uncertainty about their relative power, the authors perform a probit analysis of data on 1,871 collective agreements negotiated in the Canadian manufacturing sector between 1967 and 1982. They find, consistent with their hypothesis, that some characteristics of individual bargaining units, the relevant industries, and the economy as a whole that affect both the quantity and reliability of information needed to assess relative bargaining power do have significant value in predicting strike incidence across industries and over time.