More Power to the People: Electriciy Adoption, Technological Change and Labour Conflict
Molinder, Jakob LU ; Karlsson, Tobias LU and Enflo, Kerstin LU
(2021)
In Journal of Economic History
81(2).
p.481-512
- Abstract
- Will technical change spur conflicts in the labor market? In this study, we examine electricity adoption in Sweden during the first decades of the twentieth century. Exploiting that proximity to hydropowered plants shaped the electricity network independently of previous local conditions, we estimate the impact of electricity on labor strikes. Our results indicate that electricity adoption preceded an increase in conflicts, but strikes were of an offensive nature and most common in sectors with increasing labor demand. This suggests that electrification provided workers with a stronger bargaining position from which they could voice their claims.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/2241013f-8167-4fab-9543-eaa8df523761
- author
- Molinder, Jakob
LU
; Karlsson, Tobias
LU
and Enflo, Kerstin
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2021
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Journal of Economic History
- volume
- 81
- issue
- 2
- pages
- 481 - 512
- publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85103717123
- ISSN
- 0022-0507
- DOI
- 10.1017/S0022050721000127
- project
- From Sundsvall to Saltsjöbaden: A regional perspective on strikes at the Swedish labor market
- Labour Conflicts by location 1859–1938
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 2241013f-8167-4fab-9543-eaa8df523761
- date added to LUP
- 2020-12-11 09:16:24
- date last changed
- 2022-05-12 08:28:37
@article{2241013f-8167-4fab-9543-eaa8df523761,
abstract = {{Will technical change spur conflicts in the labor market? In this study, we examine electricity adoption in Sweden during the first decades of the twentieth century. Exploiting that proximity to hydropowered plants shaped the electricity network independently of previous local conditions, we estimate the impact of electricity on labor strikes. Our results indicate that electricity adoption preceded an increase in conflicts, but strikes were of an offensive nature and most common in sectors with increasing labor demand. This suggests that electrification provided workers with a stronger bargaining position from which they could voice their claims.}},
author = {{Molinder, Jakob and Karlsson, Tobias and Enflo, Kerstin}},
issn = {{0022-0507}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{2}},
pages = {{481--512}},
publisher = {{Cambridge University Press}},
series = {{Journal of Economic History}},
title = {{More Power to the People: Electriciy Adoption, Technological Change and Labour Conflict}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0022050721000127}},
doi = {{10.1017/S0022050721000127}},
volume = {{81}},
year = {{2021}},
}