A new industrial revolution is changing the way we produce, consume, and work. Which are the challenges and opportunities for the world of work in the Global South? Over the last decade, the developing world has produced much research and data to answer this question, but this knowledge is still fragmented, and not easily accessible. It is time to take stock of existing research, systematize it and shape it into narratives and policy frameworks specific to the Global South. This is what this call for blog posts is about. Key topics to be included in our taking stock exercise are: technology; skills; labor market institutions; demography, and inequality. GlobalDev, in partnership with the Future of Work in the Global South (FoWiGS) Initiative, invites researchers based in the Global South to share their knowledge, and discuss in a blog format the research that exists already on these questions, to contribute towards the Future of Work in the Global South’s own narrative.
The specific questions to address are:
Technology – What do we know from existing research about the most promising technologies (and risks)? Are they taking place and what are the obstacles? Potential approaches to promote them and mitigate risks
Skills – What do we know from existing research about which are the necessary abilities for the future of work?; What are there mechanisms to deliver them?; Are these mechanisms effective or where are the issues?
Labor Market Institutions – What do we know from existing research about what is the meaning of informality in ever more flexible labor markets? Is it still a bad thing? How can technology help reduce or manage it? What are the costs of reducing informality? Which institutional reforms are needed to account for new forms of work?
Demography – What do we know from existing research about demographics and debates about the FoW? Is the labor market prepared to absorb the incoming labor force?
Inequality – What do we know from existing research about the digital divide? What is the role of the gender divide? What is the role of the race and ethnic divide? What role do the structural differences between the Global South and the Global North play?
Your blog submission will be reviewed and polished by an editorial committee, translated, and published in English, French, and Spanish on www.globaldev.blog, an international platform that singles out urgent development challenges and illustrates learning from research.
For more information, read our one pager and style guide.
Please submit your queries and/or your 800-1,000 word articles to editors.globaldevblog@gdn.int.
This debate was created in partnership with the Future of Work in the Global South (FoWiGS) Initiative, an initaitive funded by IDRC and managed by CIPPEC.
