Away from Home and Back: Coordinating (Remote) Workers in 1800 and 2020

Réka Juhász, Mara Squicciarini and Nico Voigtländer

No 28251, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper examines the future of remote work by drawing parallels between two contexts: The move from home to factory-based production during the Industrial Revolution and the shift to work from home today. Both are characterized by a similar trade-off: the potential productivity advantage of the new working arrangement made possible by technology (mechanization or ICT), versus organizational barriers such as coordinating workers. Using contemporary data, we show that organizational barriers seem to be present today. Without further technological or organizational innovations, remote work may not be here to stay just yet.

JEL-codes: F63 O14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem and nep-his
Note: DAE DEV EFG POL PR
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Away from Home and Back: Coordinating (Remote) Workers in 1800 and 2020 (2021)
Working Paper: Away from Home and Back: Coordinating (Remote) Workers in 1800 and 2020 (2020)
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