- Research
Research
Cutting edge reports, briefs and factsheets delivering the latest evidence on labor markets.
- Reports
- Briefs
- Factsheets
Featured Work
Factsheet
- Data & Insights
Data & Insights
Featuring topical and informative data and graphs from our blogs and other Institute publications.
- Perspectives
- Explainers
- Data Stories
- Podcasts
Featured
Perspective
- Stories
Stories
Human interest stories that capture on ground voices from the World of Work.
- Photo Essays
- Films
Featured
Film
- Events
- Issues
- Initiatives
Opportunities and Challenges for Decent Work in the Platform Economy in Asia and the Pacific
2 April 2026
ABOUT THIS Report
As digital platforms reshape work across Asia and the Pacific, new opportunities for income and flexibility are emerging — but not equally for all workers. Rising task-based work raises urgent questions about governance and the extension of labour and social protections. This report examines emerging regulatory approaches and pathways to decent work in an increasingly digital world, and comes at a critical moment as the ILO prepares a new Convention and Recommendation on platform work to be discussed at the International Labour Conference in June 2026.
This report digs into the rapid expansion of the platform economy across Asia and the Pacific and its implications for the future of work. As digital platforms become central to service-led growth, they are reshaping employment relationships, creating new income opportunities, and enabling flexible work arrangements. At the same time, they raise complex challenges around worker classification, social protection, working conditions, and data governance. Drawing on regional economic trends and evolving legal frameworks, the report analyses how different countries are responding to these changes and underscores the need for comprehensive, adaptive policy approaches that balance innovation with the protection of workers’ rights.
You may also be interested in
Report
Strengthening Social Protection in the Platform Economy
India’s platform workforce is growing rapidly, but social protection remains inadequate. JustJobs Network’s report examines regulatory gaps, fragmented registration and weak welfare mechanisms that limit gig workers’ access to benefits. It recommends coherent laws, portable protections, accountable welfare boards, transparent platform practices and stronger tripartite dialogue to secure workers’ livelihoods.
Report
What Does it Take? Rural Women, Migration, and the Road to Work
What does it truly take for a rural young woman in India to access and sustain formal work? This report by JustJobs Network and PRADAN traces women's journeys from aspiration to employment, uncovering the social norms, family negotiations, and institutional gaps that shape their path beyond just skills training — and what governments, training partners, and employers must do differently.
Report
Path to Progress: Enabling a Smooth Education-to-Employment Transition for India’s Youth
This report identifies gaps in the education-to-employment pipeline for youth. Drawing on stakeholder insights across sectors and practical experience from the ground on what works, it highlights key misalignments and offers actionable recommendations to strengthen these transitions.
Report
Re-Centring Employment in Growth Strategies in the Global South
In her essay "Re-Centring Employment in Growth Strategies in the Global South" for Observer Research Foundation, Sabina Dewan outlines a five-point agenda to revive employment, reinforce labour market institutions, and tackle widening inequality.
Report
Mobility as Social Protection: Fare-free Public Bus Transport and Women’s Economic Participation- A Study of Karnataka’s “Shakti Yojane”
JustJobs Network’s Study on Shakti Yojane finds the scheme expanding mobility, income security, and agency for Karnataka’s most vulnerable women — at scale.
Report
Navigating the Revolution: Policy Recommendations for Inclusive AI
Artificial intelligence is an unstoppable force that is reshaping local communities, national economies, labour markets, and international relations. In this issue paper, the authors provide specific policy recommendations aimed at promoting inclusive adoption of AI technologies.
Report
Women, Technology, and Skills Development in the Global South
The report proposes actionable solutions to structural barriers hindering women’s equitable participation in emerging digital economies across the Global South, where women are underrepresented in ICT and STEM.
Report
Narrowing the Gender Divide: Thailand’s Platform Economy and Digital Work
This brief analyses the existing and forthcoming regulations governing Thailand’s platform economy and explores ways to advance the rights of women workers engaged in gig-work.
Report
Fare-free Public Transit and Women’s Economic Participation: An Analysis of the Shakti Yojane in Karnataka, India
This report is the first in a series of three reports, undertaken in collaboration with the Fiscal Policy Institue, Government of Karnataka. It investigates the effectiveness of Shakti Scheme – the fare-free transit policy in the state of Karnataka – on women’s labour force participation, access to better-quality jobs, and perceived change in agency due to higher mobility and financial savings.
Report
Water and Livelihoods in Meghalaya
This report, part of Jal Kaushal, a research project undertaken in partnership with Arghyam, explores the jobs-tasks-skills nexus of water management in rural Meghalaya. Building on the understanding that community involvement is critical for water management, this report seeks to illuminate the nature of this involvement and the barriers that need to be overcome to ensure sustained water management and achieve water security.
Report
Water and Livelihoods in Karnataka
This report, part of Jal Kaushal, a research project undertaken in partnership with Arghyam, explores the jobs-tasks-skills nexus of water management in rural Karnataka. Building on the understanding that community involvement is critical for water management, this report seeks to illuminate the nature of this involvement and the barriers that need to be overcome to ensure sustained water management and achieve water security.
Report
Water and Livelihoods in Bihar
This report, part of Jal Kaushal, a research project undertaken in partnership with Arghyam, explores the jobs-tasks-skills nexus of water management in rural Bihar. Building on the understanding that community involvement is critical for water management, this report seeks to illuminate the nature of this involvement and the barriers that need to be overcome to ensure sustained water management and achieve water security.