Evaluating Industrial Relations Systems of OECD Countries from 1993 to 2005: A Two‐Dimensional Approach

This article uses both cross‐sectional and longitudinal methods to evaluate the national industrial relations systems of 30 Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) countries from 1993 to 2005. We adopt a pluralistic view of industrial relations that gives equal weight to efficiency and equity, along with a general systems model consisting of input, process and output. We rank each country in terms of a combined score of efficiency and equity. We find that the 30 OECD countries can be separated into three distinct groups (high on both equity and efficiency; high on efficiency but low on equity; moderate on equity and low on efficiency), and that these groups exhibit considerable stability over time.     

Do Industrial Relations Institutions Influence Foreign Direct Investment? Evidence from OECD Nations

The potential impact of industrial relations institutions on economic outcomes has been a key element in analyzing the governing of the global workplace. We present case information and analysis that show that there are trade‐offs between higher levels of economic outcomes and greater equity and employee voice associated with more and deeper labor market institutions. The estimates from the model show the impact of industrial relations system policies within a nation on a country's foreign direct investment (FDI) from other nations for the period 1985 through 2000 using data from nations that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD). Examples of the impact of major transformations in national industrial relations systems on FDI for UK and New Zealand also are presented. Our results show that higher levels of industrial relations institutions from the firms’ perspective are usually associated with lower levels of FDI.     

Where Do Unions Add Value? Predominant Organizing Principle,Union Strength and Manufacturing Productivity Growth in the OECD

This article deploys comparative historical data on 14 OECD countries to examine the significance of predominant union structure for the impact of union strength on the (medium‐term) growth in hourly labour productivity in manufacturing. The analysis shows that where craft and general unionism predominates, union strength has a deleterious impact on productivity growth. Where enterprise unionism predominates, union strength is irrelevant. However, where industrial unionism predominates, union strength promotes productivity growth. These effects exist independently of established economic influences on aggregate productivity growth. The findings are interpreted as displaying the importance of the character of the governance that unions provide for their productivity impact.     

Industrial Relations, Social Pacts and Welfare Expenditures: A Cross-national Comparison

Industrial relations and welfare state are interrelated. On the basis of time‐series data for 20 OECD countries, this paper discusses and tests the impact of industrial relations on social expenditures, including ‘social pacts’ as a means of combining wage moderation and welfare state reforms. The findings suggest that industrial relations have an impact mainly through the differential effects of distinct bargaining systems: a minor impact results from their externalities. The major impact ensues from their differing degrees of politicization, leading to higher expenditures in the case of peak‐level arrangements, as compared to more decentralized systems. Hence, the widely assumed potential of social pacts for welfare state reforms has been exaggerated.     

Unionism in the United States and Other Advanced OECD Countries

In this paper we compare the changing pattern of unionization in OECD countries, reviewing existing evidence and presenting new information on union-nonunion differentials in labor market outcomes in these countries. Our principal source of information are the micro data files of the International Social Survey Programme cross-country surveys of 1985–87. Our analysis shows that U.S. unions have a larger effect on wages than on other outcomes than unions in other OECD countries, and we argue that the high union premium in the United States has contributed to the decline in union density and divergence of the US. industrial relations system     

Industrial Relations Systems and US Foreign Direct Investment Abroad

Five readily distinguishable industrial relations systems are identified based on differences in education levels, hourly compensation costs and various government and collective bargaining constraints placed on management's freedom to set the terms and conditions of employment. A model of foreign direct investment (FDI) that incorporates these key industrial relations variables is then specified and tested against US FDI across a sample of nine industries and 33 industrialized and developing countries. The industrial relations system variables significantly influence US FDI abroad. In particular, education is negatively related to FDI across low skill–low wage countries but is positively related to FDI across high skill–high wage countries. Higher hourly compensation costs (apparently capturing higher productivity) are associated with greater FDI. Whereas government restrictions on layoffs, union penetration and centralized negotiation structures are negatively related to US FDI, the ratification of ILO standards and works council policies are positively related to US FDI. Based on these findings, the FDI attractiveness of industrial relations systems are compared and policy implications discussed.     

Telecommunications infrastructure competition: The costs of delay

This paper examines the experience of the USA, the UK and other OECD countries that introduced infrastructure competition, principally for long-distance telephone service, during the 1980s. The results show that competition has generally brought lower prices, greater variety of service, faster innovation, higher usage and productivity gains, and increased output both in telecommunications and in other sectors of the economy. The evidence is now convincing that the economic benefits from competition outweigh the highly visible costs and disruptions to established organizations and relations. Other countries can learn from the pioneers' experience to reduce the uncertainties and costs resulting from the transition to competition.     

The Metamorphosis of Australian Industrial Relations

This article outlines the current processes of change in Australian industrial relations - processes whose ultimate direction and effects are unforeseeable. The traditional dominance of conciliation and arbitration tribunals is giving way to more devolved arrangements. Some protagonists of change envisage a move towards collective bargaining, with trade unions having a pervasive and secure role; others believe the place of unions is in question. The impulse for change comes partly from market-oriented ideology, but this is not extensively discussed, A second source is the desire of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Labor Government to determine wage policy jointly, with the role of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission being essentially that of implementation. Also important is a widely held view that reform of industrial relations is a path to better productivity performance. The paper discusses the justification for that view. Various questions remain to be answered. These include the possibility for enduring wages policy; the legal framework necessary for bargaining; the nature of the industrial relations system of non-union enterprises; and the congruence of enterprise bargaining with the structure of trade unionism.     

论中国工业技术的现代化问题

中国工业生产技术的现代化既是提高生产效率和资源配置效率的主要途径，也是工业化的基本前提和主要表现。本文在明确工业技术进步与工业现代化关系的基础上，分析了我国工业技术水平与国外的差距及其原因，提出提高我国工业技术进步水平与创新能力、推进我国工业现代化进程的对策。     

Works Councils and Unionization: Lessons from South Korea

This study analyzes the impact of effective works councils and unions in large South Korean firms. Following a brief review of economic theory on works councils and the institutional environment of Korean industrial relations, we describe the unique data set used to analyze Korean firm-level labor relations and economic performance. The results of the multivariate analysis show that both effective works councils and unions enhance employee voice on several key personnel practices. In addition, the estimates show that unionization increases wages and reduces turnover, but effective works councils are associated with higher levels of employee satisfaction and somewhat higher productivity. These estimates are consistent with theoretical models that find that carefully designed works councils can enhance employee voice and may increase productivity.     

Profit sharing in British industry, 1865–1913

This paper examines the history of profit sharing in Britain between 1865 and 1913. Some 300 schemes were introduced during the period and these were intended both to raise labour productivity and to improve industrial relations, in the firms concerned. These schemes appear to have added significantly to the wages of eligible workers but were frequently given up after a period of experiment. Analysis of the survival rate of schemes indicates an important role for the type of scheme (by method of payment and the size of firm) but suggests that the probability of abandonment increased with the duration of the scheme.     

ICT capital and labour productivity growth: A non-parametric analysis of 14 OECD countries

This paper uses a new set of country data for 14 countries, members of the OECD, and a non-parametric approach to provide new evidence on the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on labour productivity growth between 1995 and 2005. For the first time, in the present paper a bootstrap approach for the decomposition of labour productivity change, proposed by Kumar and Russell (2002), is employed. This approach permits to conduct statistical inference on the parameters of interest, and to analyse the effects of ICT technologies on capital accumulation. The results confirm the role of ICT as a general purpose technology that needs organisational and business process changes to fully exploit its growth opportunities. The paper also finds out, by applying a non-parametric test, that ICT technologies positively contribute to the generation of convergence clubs in the evolution of labour productivity. Finally, the empirical evidence offers some basic guidance for future policy intervention in supporting ICT capital investments.     

经济转型期间中国工业增长与全要素能源效率

经济转型期间中国工业部门取得了辉煌的增长业绩,在中国工业部门增长的背后是资源和能源的大量消耗。本文从中国工业部门增长的核心入手,剖析中国工业部门35个行业的全要素能源效率。通过构建考虑能源消耗的全要素生产力指数和全要素能源效率的分析框架,本文从四个方面考察了中国工业部门增长与全要素能源效率的关系;一是中国工业部门的生产力与技术变动同全要素能源效率表现之间的关系;二是全要素技术效率与全要素能源效率的比较;三是工业部门的人均增加值与全要素能源效率的U型曲线关系;四是工业部门结构变动与全要素能源效率的关系。     

The Survey Tradition in British Industrial Relations Research: an Assessment of the Contribution of Large-Scale Workplace and Enterprise Surveys

The paper assesses the contribution to industrial relations research of the large-scale workplace and enterprise-based surveys of industrial relations in Britain, paying particular attention to the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey (WIRS) series. It takes issue with recent criticism of survey-based analysis in the field, arguing that industrial relations researchers have developed a distinctive and valuable survey tradition. The use of surveys in industrial relations contrasts markedly with that in labour economics, stemming from differing methodological preferences in the two fields. Some limitations of the WIRS series to date are reviewed, before considering future directions that survey research might take in order to capture the changing canvass of industrial relations in Britain.     

第二产业生产服务与第二产业生产率——基于面板数据的实证研究

根据OECD发布的24个国家投入产出表,分别计算了1995年、2000年和2005年各国第二产业的劳动生产率,采用面板数据模型检验了第二产业生产服务对第二产业生产率,以及对第二产业就业和产出的影响。检验结果表明,当服务投入在第二产业总产出中所占比重不断提高时,第二产业劳动生产率将随之提高,并不会减少第二产业就业人数。因此,第二产业生产服务对第二产业产出有显著的促进作用。     

产业结构升级对城市化推进的影响、效果与机制

产业结构升级是推进城市化的重要动力之一,本文结合引力模型和现有的文献基础,推导了产业结构升级对城市化影响的非线性关系。具体来说,把产业结构升级划分为产业结构合理化与产业结构高度化两方面,而把城市化划分为人口城市化与生产率城市化两方面。研究发现,产业结构高度化对人口城市化的影响以及产业结构合理化对生产率城市化的影响呈倒“U”型关系,而产业结构高度化对生产率城市化的影响表现为正“U”型关系,产业结构高度化对生产率城市化的影响不显著,并对其原因予以解释。同时,本文加入了市场机制与政府调控对其影响的直接效应与调节效应,发现产业结构高度化与产业结构合理化通过市场机制作用于人口城市化与生产率城市化的作用要强于通过政府调控机制作用于城市化的效果,同时,产业结构高度化比产业机构合理化通过市场机制与政府调控作用于人口城市化与生产率城市化的作用要强,并得出了相应的政策启示。     

Industrial Relations Climate,Employee Voice and Managerial Attitudes to Unions: An Australian Study

This article examines how employee voice arrangements and managerial attitudes to unions shape employees' perceptions of the industrial relations climate, using data from the 2007 Australian Worker Representation and Participation Survey (AWRPS) of 1,022 employees. Controlling for a range of personal, job and workplace characteristics, regression analyses demonstrate that employees' perceptions of the industrial relations climate are more likely to be favourable if they have access to direct‐only voice arrangements. Where management is perceived by employees to oppose unions (in unionized workplaces), the industrial relations climate is more likely to be reported as poor. These findings have theoretical implications, and significant practical implications for employers, employees, unions and the government.     

工业机器人应用对制造业劳动生产率的影响研究——基于欧美13个国家数据的经验分析

本文从制造业细分行业的角度实证分析了工业机器人对劳动生产率的影响,并对西方国家整个制造业就业人数的减少做出解释。实证结果显示工业机器人的应用显著提升了制造业的劳动生产率,针对不同细分行业本身的特点,这种影响存在差异,工业机器人应用存在边际促进效应递减的趋势;从地域层面来说,工业机器人应用量大的国家,对制造业劳动生产率的提升作用更加明显,就整体而言,工业机器人的应用减少了制造业从业人员的比例,即制造业所能容纳的工人数量在逐渐减少。     

Industrial Relations in Hotels and Catering: Neglect and Paradox?

Given that hotels and catering comprise an important part of the service sector representing the changing face of the economy, their neglect in industrial relations discourse about the 'new' industrial relations is no longer sustainable. Previously unpublished data from the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey 1990 (WIRS3) have provided the first opportunity for systematic analysis and evaluation of employment relationship issues in the industry and finds them to be different from those observed elsewhere in the economy. Consequently, hotels and catering can be said to manifest a predominance of 'unbridled individualism' associated with 'poor' industrial relations outcomes which, paradoxically, exist alongside an above average presence of personnel specialists.     

The role of ICT in Korea’s economic growth: Productivity changes across industries since the 1990s

This paper investigates the hypothesis that technological convergence has been a major driving force for the recent productivity increase in Korea. Based on the dynamic panel data of Korean industries, the direct impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on labor productivity is assessed through growth accounting, and the indirect network effect of ICT on industrial total factor productivity (TFP) is estimated. The results confirm the essential role of broadband networks for successful convergence. The policy implications for the regulatory change are drawn from the empirical analysis.