Journal of Labor Economics Vol. 8 No. 3 1990
Work Stoppages and the Theory of the Offset Factor: Evidence from the British Columbian Lumber Industry
Abstract
One method of estimating losses resulting from work stoppages is to multiply the total number of man-days lost during disputes by the average product of workers. This statistic can be easily calculated using information typically available from government agencies but has obvious flaws. For example, the behavior of other firms not involved in disputes is ignored. Moreover, when output is durable, the impact on consumption is unknown since inventories can be used as buffers. To assess the importance of these and other considerations, I develop an alternative empirical framework and implement it using data from the British Columbian lumber industry.
- DOI
- 10.1086/298228
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 387-417
- Language
- en
- Sources
- openalex crossref