ICT payoffs for workers: Evidence from the labor market in Brazil

Flavia Alves

Telecommunications Policy, 2026, vol. 50, issue 1

Abstract: What is the impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on the labor market? Using high-frequency data from Brazil, I investigate the effect of fixed broadband on labor outcomes by using Covid-19 as the exogenous shock that found sticky ICT contracts in the short run. I document that workers in connected municipalities were less separated and more contracted than those workers living in cities without the same ICT resources. By classifying workers according to their potential to work from home (WFH), I identify that the impact is higher for this category of workers. However, positive spillovers are also generated for those who cannot telework but live in connected municipalities. The results show that the youngest and most educated workers benefited more when fixed broadband was available. Women were not as protected from being separated as men were, where the internet was available, in addition to having smaller wages for new hirings. The results of this paper have important policy implications, as connectivity gaps may lead to employment and earnings asymmetries between workers living in municipalities with different internet resources.

Keywords: Information and communication technologies; Internet; Fixed broadband; Labor market; Covid-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J21 J31 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2025.103081

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