The Relative Importance of Industrial Relations Ideas in Politics: A Quantitative Analysis of Political Party Manifestos across 54 Countries
56 Pages Posted: 5 Jan 2021 Last revised: 30 Apr 2021
Date Written: April 28, 2021
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
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