Conference
tUESDAY JUNE 3 2025, 09:00 AM–4:45 PM
The conference is free of charge, but registration is required
ABF house, Sveavägen 41, 111 34 Stockholm
About the conference
The productivity Commission of The Swedish Unions within Industry and Arena Idé invite you to a one-day conference in Stockholm. The idea of the conference is to build bridges to modern labour market research and to discuss its policy implications with trade unionists, employers, politicians and other practitioners.
In recent decades, economic research has significantly advanced our understanding of how labour markets function in practice. However, these insights and discussions have yet to fully influence the trade union movement and the political sphere. As a result, labour markets are often analyzed through an outdated lens.
Not the least from a trade union perspective, this is unfortunate, as research demonstrates that trade unionism, collective agreements and collective bargaining often contribute to more efficient and equitable labour markets. The flip side is that employers wage-setting power tend to reduce productivity and employment.
Some of the questions that will frame the conference are:
- When can we say that a labour market is efficient?
- Why is it that wages can be lower than the productivity of employees?
- How do minimum wages affect employment and productivity?
- How can trade unionism affect innovation and creative destruction?
- How is the macroeconomy affected by weak labour market power?
- How can competition policy improve labour market efficiency?
- What are the most important labour market reforms?
The conference will primarily be held in English. Lunch is not included, as our financial means are limited. Coffee, cakes and fruit will be provided.
Keynote speaker
Alan Manning is Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and is a globally leading labour economist. In particular, he has contributed to research on how labour markets work in practice (imperfect labour markets), minimum wages and migration.