TECHNOLOGICAL-DEVELOPMENT AND OCCUPATIONAL ACCIDENTS AS A CONDITIONALRELATIONSHIP - A STUDY OF OVER 80 YEARS IN THE SWEDISH MINING-INDUSTRY

The paper analyzes the relationship between technological development and occupational accidents in the Swedish mining industry from 1911 to 1990. Technological development is divided into three technological s tages: handicraft, mechanization, and automation. Some contextual fact ors related to industrial relations and legislation are also investiga ted regarding the direction and magnitude of this relationship. It was observed that two types of variables can explain variations in accide nt rates: (a) variables that affect the likelihood of accidents occurr ing, such as mechanization, reduction in working hours spent undergrou nd, and unemployment; and (b) variables that affect or are affected by the propensity to declare accidents, as determined, for instance, by Sweden's Work Insurance Act of 1955 or the Work Insurance Act of 1929. This study shows that the relationship between technological developm ent and occupational accidents can be regarded as conditional, since c hanges in technology are not sufficient in themselves fully to explain variations in accident frequencies.