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Working from home and labour productivity: firm-level evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Gaetano Basso

    (Bank of Italy)

  • Davide Dottori

    (Bank of Italy)

  • Sara Formai

    (Bank of Italy)

Abstract

This study examines the impact of working from home (WFH) on firm-level outcomes. It uses detailed survey, balance sheet and matched employer-employee data on Italian firms from before the pandemic and up to 2023. Estimates using a novel instrumental variable suggest that, on average, the effects on labour productivity, employment dynamics and composition, wages and other costs are negligible. However, the analysis shows that results are heterogeneous across firms. For some firms, whose labour productivity did not decline, the pandemic-induced shift to WFH was maintained after the emergency ended.

Suggested Citation

  • Gaetano Basso & Davide Dottori & Sara Formai, 2025. "Working from home and labour productivity: firm-level evidence," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1508, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_1508_25
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    File URL: https://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/temi-discussione/2025/2025-1508/en_tema_1508.pdf
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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J81 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Working Conditions
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production

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