| Abstract |
This study examines the effects of automation on labor demand, focusing on the power loom adoption in Japan’s early 20th century silk-weaving industry. Exploiting plant-level panel data, we find that, compared to non-adopted plants, power loom adaption increased the employment and wages for adult male workers likely engaged in engineering tasks. Female adults, the main manual workforce, experienced stable employment with wage increases despite displacement and task transitions. However, equilibrium spillover effects from imperfect labor market competition led to a decrease in overall female adult employment in highly mechanized areas, primarily
driven by the exit of low-wage plants. |