A new Labor Conflict Index for Argentina: Preliminary Findings

Abstract

Labor conflict has been broadly neglected by economists as a sociological issue with limited impact. In this paper, we present a new Labor Conflict Index based on the application of text mining techniques to media data, document that the results are consistent with the existing official data on labor conflicts, and report our preliminary findings. Labor conflict correlates positively (with a 3-quarter lag) with the business cycle, and it precedes by 2 quarters increases in real wages, indicating that conflict may play a role in the procyclical catch up of real wages during expansions.