The Relative Importance of Industrial Relations Ideas in Politics: A Quantitative Analysis of Political Party Manifestos across 54 Countries

Abstract

Ideas are important but hard to quantify, making large-scale, quantitative analyses difficult. Political parties are important ideational contributors, and their election-year manifestos provide explicit compilations of their ideas on relevant issues. Using Comparative Manifesto Project data, this paper examines the fraction of manifesto content devoted to pro-worker and anti-union statements to measure the importance of industrial relations ideas. Multivariate analyses across 54 countries, 75 years, and 1,132 parties uniquely uncover predictors of industrial relations ideas, including party characteristics, their responses to other parties, and the wider economic and political conditions at play. Further, pro-worker ideas matter to voters during elections.

Keywords: Industrial Relations Ideas, Political Parties; Comparative Manifesto Project