Labor

More from the Series

Blog Post
Tom Standage on Sounds Robotic: A CGD Podcast
Charles Kenny
March 06, 2019
In this episode of Sounds Robotic, we discuss the potential upsides of AI and automation as well as the "lump of labor" fallacy as applied to robots.
WORKING PAPERS
Measuring the Spatial Misallocation of Labor: The Returns to India-Gulf Guest Work in a Natural Experiment - Working Paper 501
Michael Clemens
January 31, 2019
‘Guest workers’ earn higher wages overseas on temporary low-skill employment visas. This wage gap can be used to measure gaps in the productivity of workers due to where they are, not who they are. This paper estimates the effects of guest work on Indian applicants to a construction job ...
Blog Post
Introducing “Sounds Robotic: A CGD Podcast”
Charles Kenny
December 03, 2018
CGD’s Study Group on Technology, Comparative Advantage, and Development Prospects is looking at current technology trends, including those around automation and artificial intelligence, and thinking through what they might imply for global economic growth and the distribution of inco...
Blog Post
What Robopocalypse?
Charles Kenny
November 09, 2018
The Future of Work is all the rage—the latest World Bank World Development Report is dedicated to the issue, the World Economic Forum and McKinsey have issued multiple reports, and "your job is being stolen by a robot" articles are being churned out at a rate that...
Blog Post
Who’s Responsible? Consider Developing Countries When Assessing the Ethical Responsibilities of Innovation
Susan Liautaud
November 07, 2018
Imagine sitting on a park bench chatting with a life-sized robot as engaging as the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz. But this is not just any chunk of metallic brain power. It is your life partner.
Blog Post
Uber and Taxify in Africa: Good Work or a Race to the Bottom?
Julie Zollmann
and
Amolo Ng’weno
November 06, 2018
What has the growth of ride-hailing platforms meant for employment in Africa? Taxify claims to have “hundreds of thousands” of drivers across the continent, but exact numbers are hard to come by.
Blog Post
Can Africa Show How Gig Workers Get a Fair Share in the Digital Economy?
Amolo Ng’weno
and
David Porteous
October 15, 2018
The digital economy and the gig economy are on a collision course in Africa. For decades, the informal sector has been the engine of employment growth across the continent, with gig work a big part of that.