Damaged by Democracy: The National Union of Mineworkers and the 1984–85 Strike

This paper explores the democratic tensions within the National Union of Mineworkers that split the union during the 1984–85 strike over mine closures. In seeking to understand the conflict over the failure to hold a national ballot to validate this yearlong strike, the paper explores the development of this federally structured trade union and examines previous conflicts in which the federated nature of the union created local, rather than national, solidarities.     

Introduction to “The Dual-Agency Problem of Labor Union Pension Fund Shareholder Activism”

Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal -     

Introduction to “Breaking New Ground: Social Movement Theory and the Cincinnati Union Co-ops”

Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal -     

The determinants of austerity in the European Union 2010–16

This paper aims at decteting what drove the adoption of austerity policies over the period 2010–16 in a panel of 28 European countries. Austerity is identified by year increases in the ratio between the structural primary balance and potential GDP. By means of principal component factor analysis we select the aggregate factors that might affect austerity, namely (i) fiscal consolidation (correction of high deficits and debts), (ii) market discipline (high sovereign spreads, low ratings), (iii) rule-based fiscal discipline (compliance with the Eurozone rules), and macroeconomic stabilisation (consideration for the cyclical position of the economy). Then we estimate a dynamic panel model with the system-GMM method. Results show that the most important contributions to austerity are provided by the market discipline and fiscal consolidation factors together with Excessive Deficit Procedures, with no significant role played by concomitant macroeconomic conditions. Overall, governments complied with orthodox fiscal principles and rules.