A number of factors will determine whether the current recession in America will be short and shallow or prolonged and deep. One of those factors concerns structural changes in the labour market which have given employers much more flexibility in hiring and firing workers. That means employers will be more likely to begin rehiring as soon as demand picks up.
This new flexibility is in large part the result of the declining power of labour unions.
Economists suggest that the brief and shallow recession of 1990-91 is a far more appropriate model for the current economy than the deeper and longer 1981-82 recession.
Source: Bradley R. Schiller (American University), Weak Unions Create a Strong Economy, Wall Street Journal, February 19, 2002.
For text http://online.wsj.com/article/0,4286,SB1014082141188424400,00.htm
For more on Union Membership http://www.ncpa.org/iss/uni
FMF Policy Bulletin\26 February 2002
