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Telework and Productivity Before, During and After the COVID‑19 Crisis

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  • Antonin Bergeaud
  • Gilbert Cette
  • Simon Drapala

Abstract

[eng] We use the data from a Banque de France survey, carried out among French companies about their use of telework in 2019 and during the first lockdown in the spring of 2020. Combining this with detailed information regarding their balance sheets and profit and loss accounts, we show that those that made more use of telework in 2019 were more productive on average and better withstood the crisis overall. They are also larger and relatively less capital-intensive, although they have relatively high fixed assets in the form of IT equipment and intangible assets when compared with other companies. The estimations show that a significant global increase in the use of telework in the long term could increase productivity by around 10%. The results also reveal the non-linear effects of telework on productivity. Companies that were already practising telework in 2019 were more likely than others to want to increase this in the future and those that were looking to do so were more likely to be planning an increase in their IT investment, as well as a change of premises.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonin Bergeaud & Gilbert Cette & Simon Drapala, 2023. "Telework and Productivity Before, During and After the COVID‑19 Crisis," Economie et Statistique / Economics and Statistics, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE), issue 539, pages 73-89.
    • Handle: RePEc:nse:ecosta:ecostat_2023_539_4
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.24187/ecostat.2023.539.2098
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dingel, Jonathan I. & Neiman, Brent, 2020. "How many jobs can be done at home?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    2. Antonin Bergeaud & Simon Ray, 2021. "Adjustment Costs and Factor Demand: New Evidence from Firms’ Real Estate [The heterogeneous impact of market size on innovation: evidence from French firm-level exports]," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(633), pages 70-100.
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    1. Pierre Pora, 2023. "Comment – Telework and Productivity Three Years After the Start of the Pandemic," Economie et Statistique / Economics and Statistics, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE), issue 539, pages 91-96.

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