Leonardo Gasparini, Irene Brambilla, Cristian Bonavida
This paper studies the risk of automation, the unfeasibility of teleworking and the risk of
contagion due to physical proximity in the six largest economies in Latin America. To this end, it combined O*NET data on occupations characteristics with harmonized microdata from national household surveys.
The authors’ find that the threats to employment from the growing automation process and pandemic situations are markedly asymmetrical. Given the occupational structure of Latin America, workers with low education, informal, and low-wage levels are the most exposed to this type of risk. Automation and health crises may have significant unequalizing effects.
In addition, this work provides evidence on interactions between the two risks. In particular, job loss in pandemic situations may be more accelerated in occupations where remote work is less feasible and the risk of automation is higher.
IDRC has launched FOWIGS—a research program that will help understand how these changes are affecting the lives of the most vulnerable and suggest pathways for an inclusive digital future. The challenges are large and the questions are complex. But we need to face them now more than ever. Stay connected. Learn how.