Is E-commerce an opportunity for boosting employment in developing countries? a study for the Chilean case

Manuel Pérez-Trujillo (), Camila Alvayay Torrejón () and Maricruz Lacalle Calderón ()
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Manuel Pérez-Trujillo: Universidad Católica del Norte
Camila Alvayay Torrejón: Universidad Católica del Norte
Maricruz Lacalle Calderón: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/ Francisco Tomás y Valiente

Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, 2024, vol. 8, issue 4, No 5, 1077-1110

Abstract: Abstract Little is known about how e-commerce impacts a firm’s performance and hiring decisions. The aim of this study was to empirically assess the impact of e-commerce on employment, labor demand and the skill composition of labor in a developing economy. We used Chile as a case study of a developing economy in Latin America that has seen e-commerce sales increase tenfold in the last decade. Data on e-commerce and employment for around 6,000 firms from the Chilean Ministry of Economy's Longitudinal Survey of Companies (ELE) for 2017 were used. Our identification technique was based on a matching procedure between firms that use e-commerce and those that do not. The fundamental aim was to compare labor demand among similar firms from multiple aspects, with the exception of e-commerce usage. Our results showed that e-commerce has a positive effect not only on total employment but also on hiring in Chilean firms by boosting the demands for both high and medium-skilled labor.

Keywords: E-commerce; Developing economy; ICTs; Employment; Labor demand (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D22 J23 O32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s41685-024-00356-4

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