The Social Consequences of Technological Change: Evidence from U.S. Electrification and Immigrant Labor

Abstract

This paper examines how technological change in production affects social cohesion in ethnically diverse societies. I study the early expansion of the electric grid in the United States between 1900 and 1940, when electrification transformed manufacturing and large-scale immigration reshaped the labor force. Using newly digitized maps of the U.S. high-voltage transmission network linked to full-count census data, I exploit the staggered rollout of electrification across counties to estimate its causal effects on the integration of immigrant and native workers. I find that electrification increased the share of immigrant workers in manufacturing and reduced ethnic segregation across occupations within industries. Electrified industries became more diverse and more integrated, especially among groups culturally distant from the native-born population and in production-related occupations. These effects extend beyond the workplace. Electrification is associated with lower residential segregation among manufacturing workers and a partial attenuation of the negative relationship between immigrant presence and local public service provision. Together, these results suggest that electrification fostered greater social cohesion in communities where manufacturing played a central role. Finally, I find weak evidence of effects on cultural assimilation. Intermarriage between immigrants and natives rose modestly in electrified counties, but naming patterns among immigrant families did not change systematically. Overall, I find that, in this context, technological change reshaped the social fabric by promoting integration both at work and within local communities.