Publications
Publications
- 2017
- HBS Working Paper Series
Digital Labor Markets and Global Talent Flows
By: John Horton, William R. Kerr and Christopher Stanton
Abstract
Digital labor markets are rapidly expanding and connecting companies and contractors on a global basis. We review the environment in which these markets take root, the micro- and macro-level studies of their operations, their ongoing evolution and recent trends, and perspectives for undertaking research with micro-data from these labor platforms. We undertake new empirical analyses of Upwork data regarding 1) the alignment of micro- and macro-level approaches to disproportionate ethnic-connected exchanges on digital platforms, 2) gravity model analyses of global outsourcing contract flows and their determinants for digital labor markets, and 3) quantification of own- and cross-country elasticities for contract work by wage rate. Digital labor markets are an exciting frontier for global talent flows and are growing rapidly in importance.
Keywords
Citation
Horton, John, William R. Kerr, and Christopher Stanton. "Digital Labor Markets and Global Talent Flows." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 17-096, May 2017.