Digitalization, Remote Work and Firm Resilience
Using Business Pulse Survey data for 61 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper presents novel findings on remote work, enabled by digitalization, as a source of resilience for firms. The results suggest the following. First, firms in sectors with greater amenability to remote work experienced a smaller adverse impact of the pandemic in countries with better digital infrastructure. Second, these effects apply to both exporting and non-exporting firms. Third, there are differences across sectors. Among firms in the manufacturing sector, the benefits of remote work in countries with better digital infrastructure accrue more to exporters relative to non-exporters, thereby reflecting a premium to exporting. This exporting premium is not observed in the service sector, which largely comprises firms in non-knowledge intensive services in the sample. Fourth, the effects of the amenability to work remotely in countries with better digital infrastructure do not dissipate over time.
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Working Paper biblioteca |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
Washington, DC: World Bank
2024-10-16
|
| Subjects: | DIGITAL, REMOTE WORK, FIRMS, RESILIENCE, COVID-19, TRADE, DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH, SDG 8, |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099320110152485309/IDU109730bb01deff1434b1ac661b7155ed32bf4 https://hdl.handle.net/10986/42255 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Using Business Pulse Survey data for
61 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper
presents novel findings on remote work, enabled by
digitalization, as a source of resilience for firms. The
results suggest the following. First, firms in sectors with
greater amenability to remote work experienced a smaller
adverse impact of the pandemic in countries with better
digital infrastructure. Second, these effects apply to both
exporting and non-exporting firms. Third, there are
differences across sectors. Among firms in the manufacturing
sector, the benefits of remote work in countries with better
digital infrastructure accrue more to exporters relative to
non-exporters, thereby reflecting a premium to exporting.
This exporting premium is not observed in the service
sector, which largely comprises firms in non-knowledge
intensive services in the sample. Fourth, the effects of the
amenability to work remotely in countries with better
digital infrastructure do not dissipate over time. |
|---|