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The Work-from-Home Technology Boon and its Consequences

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  • Morris A. Davis
  • Andra C. Ghent
  • Jesse M. Gregory

Abstract

We study the impact of widespread adoption of work-from-home (WFH) technology using an equilibrium model where people choose where to live, how to allocate their time between working at home and at the office, and how much space to use in production. Motivated by cross-sectional evidence on WFH, we model WFH as a complement to work at the office. Simulations of the model indicate that the pandemic induced a large change to the relative productivity of WFH that substantially increased home prices and will permanently affect incomes, income inequality, and city structure.

Suggested Citation

  • Morris A. Davis & Andra C. Ghent & Jesse M. Gregory, 2021. "The Work-from-Home Technology Boon and its Consequences," NBER Working Papers 28461, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28461
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    RePEc Biblio mentions

    As found on the RePEc Biblio, the curated bibliography for Economics:
    1. > Economics of Welfare > Health Economics > Economics of Pandemics > Specific pandemics > Covid-19 > Long-term consequences

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    Cited by:

    1. Kunal Dasgupta & Srinivasan Murali, 2024. "Pandemic containment and inequality in a developing economy," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 62(2), pages 837-864, April.
    2. Liu, Sitian & Su, Yichen, 2021. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the demand for density: Evidence from the U.S. housing market," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    3. Ferdinando Monte & Charly Porcher & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2023. "Remote Work and City Structure," Working Papers 2023-016, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    4. Bergeaud, Antonin & Eyméoud, Jean-Benoît & Garcia, Thomas & Henricot, Dorian, 2023. "Working from home and corporate real estate," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    5. Steven Bond-Smith & Philip McCann, 2022. "The work-from-home revolution and the performance of cities," Working Papers 2022-6, University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
    6. Daniel Broxterman & Tingyu Zhou, 2023. "Information Frictions in Real Estate Markets: Recent Evidence and Issues," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 66(2), pages 203-298, February.
    7. Alexander Bick & Adam Blandin & Karel Mertens, 2023. "Work from Home before and after the COVID-19 Outbreak," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 1-39, October.
    8. Alipour, Jean-Victor & Falck, Oliver & Schüller, Simone, 2023. "Germany’s capacity to work from home," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    9. Rémy Le Boennec, 2023. "The impact of working from home arrangements on urban sprawl when the firms pay for the "home office"," Post-Print hal-04095748, HAL.
    10. Daiji Kawaguchi & Sagiri Kitao & Manabu Nose, 2022. "The impact of COVID-19 on Japanese firms: mobility and resilience via remote work," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(6), pages 1419-1449, December.
    11. van Vuuren, Aico, 2022. "Is there a diminishing value of urban amenities as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic?," Working Papers in Economics 818, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    12. Althoff, Lukas & Eckert, Fabian & Ganapati, Sharat & Walsh, Conor, 2022. "The Geography of Remote Work," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    13. Liu, Sitian & Su, Yichen, 2022. "The Effect of Working from Home on the Agglomeration Economies of Cities: Evidence from Advertised Wages," MPRA Paper 114429, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. John A. Mondragon & Johannes Wieland, 2022. "Housing Demand and Remote Work," NBER Working Papers 30041, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Rémy Le Boennec, 2023. "The impact of working from home arrangements on urban sprawl when the firms pay for the "home office"," Post-Print hal-04092985, HAL.
    16. Gokan,Toshitaka & Kichko,Sergei & Matheson,Jesse A & Thisse,Jacques-François, 2022. "How the rise of teleworking will reshape labor markets and cities?," IDE Discussion Papers 868, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    17. William D. Larson & Christos Makridis & Chad Redmer, 2021. "Borrower Expectations and Mortgage Performance: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic," FHFA Staff Working Papers 21-02, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
    18. Schulz, Rainer & Watson, Verity & Wersing, Martin, 2023. "Teleworking and housing demand," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    19. Behrens, Kristian & Kichko, Sergei & Thisse, Jacques-Francois, 2024. "Working from home: Too much of a good thing?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    20. Gilles Duranton & Jessie Handbury, 2023. "COVID and Cities, Thus Far," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, vol. 29(2), pages 6-52, October.
    21. Saura, Jose Ramon & Ribeiro-Soriano, Domingo & Zegarra Saldaña, Pablo, 2022. "Exploring the challenges of remote work on Twitter users' sentiments: From digital technology development to a post-pandemic era," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 242-254.
    22. Barbour, Natalia & Abdel-Aty, Mohamed & Sevim, Alican, 2024. "Intended work from home frequency after the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of socio-demographic, psychological, disability, and work-related factors," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    23. van Vuuren, Aico, 2023. "Is there a diminishing willingness to pay for consumption amenities as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    24. Gamber, William & Graham, James & Yadav, Anirudh, 2023. "Stuck at home: Housing demand during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(PB).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O41 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R33 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Nonagricultural and Nonresidential Real Estate Markets

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