HOW DO INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS AFFECT INDUSTRIAL-RELATIONS OUTCOMES - A MICRO-STATISTICAL COMPARISON OF FRANCE AND BRITAIN

Industrial relations are widely regulated by law in France, while the British system is essentially voluntaristic. More broadly, the structu res, strategies and ideologies of social actors in the two countries d iffer profoundly. Comparative statistical analysis, based on two simil ar workplace industrial relations surveys (WIRS 90 and REPONSE 92), sh eds some light on the internal logic of each system. Our results show that while British unions, in the establishments where they still exis t, certainly have more members and more formal involvement in manageme nt decisions, their French counterparts are present in a larger propor tion of establishments, and have a greater ability to mobilize workers for conflict when they find it necessary.