More Power to the People: Electricity Adoption, Technological Change, and Labor Conflict
利用20世纪初瑞典水电网络的外生性，研究发现电力普及先于劳资冲突增加，且罢工多为进攻性、集中在劳动力需求上升的行业，说明电气化增强了工人的议价能力。
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.