Infographic: Like moths to a flame: an individual level approach to technological change in 20th century Sweden
I asked Google’s Gemini 2.5 to create an infographic based on my PhD thesis, “Like moths to a flame: an individual level approach to technological change in 20th century Sweden”.
Here is the result, which I think is quite good. It summarizes the main findings of my thesis and includes visualizations of the data I used in my research.
Technological Tides
Sweden's 20th Century Electrification & Its Economic Echoes
An infographic exploring Jonathan Jayes's PhD research on the impact of technological change, drawing lessons from history for today's transformations.
The Electrification Wave in Sweden
Sweden's rapid adoption of electricity as a General Purpose Technology (GPT) reshaped its industrial landscape and energy consumption patterns in the early 20th century.
Reshaping Labor: Income, Inequality & Employment
Electrification brought significant, and sometimes counter-intuitive, changes to the labor market, impacting workers' earnings, the income gap, and job structures.
The Human Element: High-Skilled Labor in Transition
Engineers and business leaders were pivotal. This "upper tail" human capital exhibited distinct characteristics and mobility patterns, crucial for implementing the new electrical systems.
Engineer Mobility: Distance from Birthplace
Source: Adapted from Jayes (Paper 3), Fig 7. Engineers in key sectors like electrical/mechanical machinery moved significantly further than average workers.
Profile of Pioneer Engineers (Western Line, pre-1930)
Key Traits:
- More likely to have KTH technical education.
- More likely to have US career experience.
- Often from agricultural or working-class backgrounds.
- Migrants into these areas often brought KTH degrees and overseas experience.
Origin of US Experience for Pioneers
Source: Adapted from Jayes (Paper 3), Table 5. A notable portion gained US experience in the Electrical Industry.
Firms & Leadership: Steering Through Change
The study investigated how corporate director backgrounds (engineering vs. business, US experience) influenced firm performance and labor outcomes from 1873-1980.
Evolution of Director Education (by Birth Year)
Source: Adapted from Jayes (Paper 4). Shows the changing share of directors with technical versus business education backgrounds over successive birth cohorts.
Impact of Director Appointments (Event Studies)
Key Preliminary Findings:
- Potential Positive Link: Appointing U.S.-experienced engineers showed a tentative correlation with later increases in revenue per worker.
- No Significant Effects: Appointing directors with business/finance training did not show significant effects on firm performance or labor share in this historical Swedish context.
- This contrasts with some modern studies, highlighting the importance of historical and institutional context in managerial impact.
Illustrative: Effect of US-Experienced Engineer on Revenue/Worker (adapted from Paper 4)
Echoes from History: Labor Displacement in Perspective
A systematic review of pre-1980 historical literature reveals patterns of technological labor displacement and highlights areas needing more quantitative research.
Geographic Focus of Displacement Studies
Source: Adapted from Jayes & Schneider (Paper 1), Fig 2. Research is heavily concentrated in North America and Europe.
Key Sectors of Historical Displacement
🚜 Agricultural Mechanization
Technologies like tractors and mechanical pickers led to significant displacement of farm workers and sharecroppers.
🏭 Factory & Industrial Automation
New machinery in textiles, glassmaking, mining, and other industries often replaced manual craft skills and routine tasks.
📠 Service & Clerical Automation
Early automation in telephone operations and office data processing (e.g., EDP) displaced operators and clerical staff.
Source: Synthesized from Jayes & Schneider (Paper 1). Displacement effects were often uneven, impacting lower-skilled workers more significantly.
Key Insights & Reflections
Jonathan Jayes's research underscores that the impact of technological change is not monolithic. The Swedish experience with electrification reveals that major technological shifts can, under certain conditions, be labor-supporting and inequality-reducing, particularly benefiting those with less formal education.
The studies highlight the critical role of specialized, mobile, high-skilled labor (often with international experience) in driving technological adoption, while also showing that the benefits could diffuse broadly. Furthermore, the influence of corporate leadership appears highly dependent on historical and institutional contexts, challenging universal assumptions about managerial impact.
These historical lessons offer valuable perspectives for navigating today's technological transformations, emphasizing the importance of context, skill development, and adaptive institutional frameworks.