Labour conflict and the Arrival of Telecommunications

Seminari d'Estudiants del Doctorat en Història Econòmica

Guillem Amatller (Universitat de Barcelona), Labour conflict and the Arrival of Telecommunications

Abstract

In the 19th century, two events happened at the same time. On the one hand, the arrival of telecommunications. On the other, the emergence of the labour movement. In this paper I investigate if both were indeed related. In the XIX century, many autocrats had to de-cide where to place newly arrived telecommunication’s infrastructure. Initially, they wired the main economic cities. But once those were connected, elites had to choose where to develop further telecommuni-cations in less developed areas. They had the choice to do so in friendly areas, to maintain loyalty where they were already strong by granting innovative infrastructure. Alternatively, they could place telecommu-nications where their authority was weaker, that is, where labour conflict started to get strong. Using newly digitized panel data, this paper finds evidence of the later: more conflict meant more telegraph connec-tion. The mechanism that links the two is repression: elites developed telecommunications where they perceived rebellion to be more likely.

Dia: Dimecres, 12 d'abril de 2023

Hora: 14:30 hores
Lloc: Híbrid. Aula 2019 (Edifici 696), Facultat d'Economia i Empresa i on line en aquest enllaç.