Wired for Work: Exploring the Nexus of Technology & Jobs

15 December 2018
ABOUT THIS Brief

This paper is part of the Growth and Reducing Inequality Working Paper Series which is an effort to gather and disseminate a diverse range of perspectives and research on trends, drivers and policy responses relevant to developing country efforts to boost growth and reduce inequality.

As technological advancements proceed at an unprecedented scale and speed upending traditional employment models, researchers across the globe are working frenetically to understand how the world of work is changing and what the future holds. This paper explores the most important questions that scholars, policymakers and practitioners are grappling with in understanding the nexus of technology and jobs.

It outlines what we know and where gaps remain. Understanding the potential reach of technological change along with emerging preferences and modes of organization can help us balance priorities across a broad range of actors. There is a need for urgent action to direct the impact that technology has on jobs. This means deliberate choices about work design on the part of employers, exploring new and innovative ways of organizing workers and creating a new set of government policies and regulations to manage the proliferation and effect of technology on jobs.

Sabina Dewan, President and Executive Director of JustJobs Network authors Wired for Work: Exploring the Nexus of Technology & Jobs which is part of the Growth and Reducing Inequality Working Paper Series, a joint effort of the G-24 and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung New York