IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/treure/v23y2017i2p135-162.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Digital labour and development: impacts of global digital labour platforms and the gig economy on worker livelihoods

Author

Listed:
  • Mark Graham

    (Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK The Alan Turing Institute, UK)

  • Isis Hjorth

    (Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK)

  • Vili Lehdonvirta

    (Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK The Alan Turing Institute, UK)

Abstract

As ever more policy-makers, governments and organisations turn to the gig economy and digital labour as an economic development strategy to bring jobs to places that need them, it becomes important to understand better how this might influence the livelihoods of workers. Drawing on a multi-year study with digital workers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South-east Asia, this article highlights four key concerns for workers: bargaining power, economic inclusion, intermediated value chains, and upgrading. The article shows that although there are important and tangible benefits for a range of workers, there are also a range of risks and costs that unduly affect the livelihoods of digital workers. Building on those concerns, it then concludes with a reflection on four broad strategies – certification schemes, organising digital workers, regulatory strategies and democratic control of online labour platforms – that could be employed to improve conditions and livelihoods for digital workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Graham & Isis Hjorth & Vili Lehdonvirta, 2017. "Digital labour and development: impacts of global digital labour platforms and the gig economy on worker livelihoods," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 23(2), pages 135-162, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:treure:v:23:y:2017:i:2:p:135-162
    DOI: 10.1177/1024258916687250
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1024258916687250
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/1024258916687250?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chris F. Wright & William Brown, 2013. "The effectiveness of socially sustainable sourcing mechanisms: Assessing the prospects of a new form of joint regulation," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(1), pages 20-37, January.
    2. Ejaz Ghani & William R. Kerr & Christopher Stanton, 2014. "Diasporas and Outsourcing: Evidence from oDesk and India," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(7), pages 1677-1697, July.
    3. Siou Chew Kuek & Cecilia Paradi-Guilford & Toks Fayomi & Saori Imaizumi & Panos Ipeirotis & Patricia Pina & Manpreet Singh, 2015. "The Global Opportunity in Online Outsourcing," World Bank Publications - Reports 22284, The World Bank Group.
    4. Ajay K. Agrawal & Nicola Lacetera & Elizabeth Lyons, 2013. "Does Information Help or Hinder Job Applicants from Less Developed Countries in Online Markets?," NBER Working Papers 18720, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Coe, Neil M. & Yeung, Henry Wai-chung, 2015. "Global Production Networks: Theorizing Economic Development in an Interconnected World," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198703914.
    6. Pietrobelli, Carlo & Rabellotti, Roberta, 2011. "Global Value Chains Meet Innovation Systems: Are There Learning Opportunities for Developing Countries?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 1261-1269, July.
    7. Linda McDowell, 2015. "Roepke Lecture in Economic Geography—The Lives of Others: Body Work, the Production of Difference, and Labor Geographies," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 91(1), pages 1-23, January.
    8. Brendan Burchell & Kirsten Sehnbruch & Agnieszka Piasna & Nurjk Agloni, 2014. "The quality of employment and decent work: definitions, methodologies, and ongoing debates," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 38(2), pages 459-477.
    9. Ben Selwyn, 2012. "Beyond firm-centrism: re-integrating labour and capitalism into global commodity chain analysis," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 205-226, January.
    10. Linda McDowell, 2015. "Roepke Lecture in Economic Geography—The Lives of Others: Body Work, the Production of Difference, and Labor Geographies," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 91(1), pages 1-23, January.
    11. Siddhartha Raja & Saori Imaizumi & Tim Kelly & Junko Narimatsu & Cecilia Paradi-Guilford, 2013. "Connecting to Work : How Information and Communication Technologies Could Help Expand Employment Opportunities," World Bank Publications - Reports 16243, The World Bank Group.
    12. Jamie Peck, 2002. "Political Economies of Scale: Fast Policy, Interscalar Relations, and Neoliberal Workfare," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 78(3), pages 331-360, July.
    13. Frances Fox Piven & Richard A. Cloward, 2000. "Power Repertoires and Globalization," Politics & Society, , vol. 28(3), pages 413-430, September.
    14. Carlo Pietrobelli & Federica Saliola, 2008. "Power relationships along the value chain: multinational firms, global buyers and performance of local suppliers," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 32(6), pages 947-962, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Agnieszka Piasna & Jan Drahokoupil, 2017. "Gender inequalities in the new world of work," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 23(3), pages 313-332, August.
    2. Maj Grasten & Leonard Seabrooke & Duncan Wigan, 2023. "Legal affordances in global wealth chains: How platform firms use legal and spatial scaling," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 55(4), pages 1062-1079, June.
    3. Paul Langley & Andrew Leyshon, 2023. "FinTech platform regulation: regulating with/against platforms in the UK and China," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 16(2), pages 257-268.
    4. Francesca Bellesia & Elisa Mattarelli & Fabiola Bertolotti, 2023. "Algorithms and their Affordances: How Crowdworkers Manage Algorithmic Scores in Online Labour Markets," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 1-37, January.
    5. Helwing Veronique & Verfürth Philip & Franz Martin, 2023. "Trucking (un)limited – the impact of digital platforms on labour in production networks of logistics," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 67(4), pages 177-188, December.
    6. Geert De Neve & Kaveri Medappa & Rebecca Prentice, 2023. "India’s Gig Economy Workers at the Time of Covid-19: An Introduction," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 18(3), pages 343-358, December.
    7. Marios Kokkodis, 2021. "Dynamic, Multidimensional, and Skillset-Specific Reputation Systems for Online Work," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 32(3), pages 688-712, September.
    8. Fuchs Martina & Cumbers Andrew, 2023. "Digitalization and Labor Restructuring," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 67(4), pages 173-176, December.
    9. Ensar Balkaya & İkram Yusuf Yarbaşı & Muhammed İkbal Tepeler, 2023. "Determinants of Demand in Digital Platform-Mediated Service Work in Turkey: An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-18, July.
    10. Ryan Edwards & Daniel Suryadarma, 2022. "Introduction to the special issue on social and economic impacts of online marketplaces on women in Asia," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(3), pages 217-221, September.
    11. Welmah N. Mutengwe & Adrino Mazenda & Moreblessing Simawu, 2024. "Uber's digital labour platform and labour relations in South Africa," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 42(1), January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cristiano Codagnone & Fabienne Abadie & Federico Biagi, 2016. "The Future of Work in the ‘Sharing Economy’. Market Efficiency and Equitable Opportunities or Unfair Precarisation?," JRC Research Reports JRC101280, Joint Research Centre.
    2. Stefan Pahl & Marcel P. Timmer, 2020. "Do Global Value Chains Enhance Economic Upgrading? A Long View," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(9), pages 1683-1705, July.
    3. Jana M. Kleibert & Laura Mann, 2020. "Capturing Value amidst Constant Global Restructuring? Information-Technology-Enabled Services in India, the Philippines and Kenya," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(4), pages 1057-1079, September.
    4. Jana M. Kleibert & Laura Mann, 0. "Capturing Value amidst Constant Global Restructuring? Information-Technology-Enabled Services in India, the Philippines and Kenya," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 0, pages 1-23.
    5. Braesemann, Fabian & Stephany, Fabian & Teutloff, Ole & Kässi, Otto & Graham, Mark & Lehdonvirta, Vili, 2021. "The polarisation of remote work," SocArXiv q8a96, Center for Open Science.
    6. McWilliam, Sarah E. & Kim, Jung Kwan & Mudambi, Ram & Nielsen, Bo Bernhard, 2020. "Global value chain governance: Intersections with international business," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(4).
    7. repec:cep:stieop:56 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Liena Kano & Eric W. K. Tsang & Henry Wai-chung Yeung, 2020. "Global value chains: A review of the multi-disciplinary literature," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(4), pages 577-622, June.
    9. Yoshimichi Murakami & Keijiro Otsuka, 2017. "A Review of the Literature on Productivity Impacts of Global Value Chains and Foreign Direct Investment: Towards an Integrated Approach," Discussion Paper Series DP2017-19, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University, revised Aug 2019.
    10. Navas-Alemán, Lizbeth & Pietrobelli, Carlo & Kamiya, Marco, 2012. "Inter-Firm Linkages and Finance in Value Chains," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 4067, Inter-American Development Bank.
    11. Aleksynska, Mariya & Bastrakova, Anastasia & Kharchenko, Natalia Nikolaevna, 2019. "Working Conditions on Digital Labour Platforms: Evidence from a Leading Labour Supply Economy," IZA Discussion Papers 12245, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Mann, Laura & Kleibert, Jana Maria, 2020. "Capturing value amidst constant global restructuring? Information technology enabled services in India, the Philippines and Kenya," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103356, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    13. Yoruk, Deniz E., 2019. "Dynamics of firm-level upgrading and the role of learning in networks in emerging markets," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 341-369.
    14. Marios Kokkodis, 2023. "Adjusting Skillset Cohesion in Online Labor Markets: Reputation Gains and Opportunity Losses," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 34(3), pages 1245-1258, September.
    15. Ylömäki, Tobias, 2016. "Global Value Chain Upgrading," ETLA Working Papers 36, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    16. Phil Almond & Maria C. Gonzalez & Jonathan Lavelle & Gregor Murray, 2017. "The local in the global: regions, employment systems and multinationals," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(2), pages 115-132, March.
    17. Lopez, Patricia J. & Neely, Abigail H., 2021. "Fundamentally uncaring: The differential multi-scalar impacts of COVID-19 in the U.S," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    18. Emanuele Brancati & Raffaele Brancati & Andrea Maresca, 2017. "Global value chains, innovation and performance: firm-level evidence from the Great Recession," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(5), pages 1039-1073.
    19. Pavida Pananond, 2016. "From servant to master: Power repositioning of emerging-market companies in global value chains," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 15(4), pages 292-316, September.
    20. Guo Xu, 2015. "How Does Collective Reputation Affect Hiring? Selection and Sorting in an Online Labour Market," STICERD - Economic Organisation and Public Policy Discussion Papers Series 056, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE.
    21. Jean, Ruey Jer “Bryan”, 2014. "What makes export manufacturers pursue functional upgrading in an emerging market? A study of Chinese technology new ventures," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 741-749.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:treure:v:23:y:2017:i:2:p:135-162. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.