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Digital labour and development: impacts of global digital labour platforms and the gig economy on worker livelihoods

Author

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  • Mark Graham

    (Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK The Alan Turing Institute, UK)

  • Isis Hjorth

    (Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK)

  • Vili Lehdonvirta

    (Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK The Alan Turing Institute, UK)

Abstract

As ever more policy-makers, governments and organisations turn to the gig economy and digital labour as an economic development strategy to bring jobs to places that need them, it becomes important to understand better how this might influence the livelihoods of workers. Drawing on a multi-year study with digital workers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South-east Asia, this article highlights four key concerns for workers: bargaining power, economic inclusion, intermediated value chains, and upgrading. The article shows that although there are important and tangible benefits for a range of workers, there are also a range of risks and costs that unduly affect the livelihoods of digital workers. Building on those concerns, it then concludes with a reflection on four broad strategies – certification schemes, organising digital workers, regulatory strategies and democratic control of online labour platforms – that could be employed to improve conditions and livelihoods for digital workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Graham & Isis Hjorth & Vili Lehdonvirta, 2017. "Digital labour and development: impacts of global digital labour platforms and the gig economy on worker livelihoods," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 23(2), pages 135-162, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:treure:v:23:y:2017:i:2:p:135-162
    DOI: 10.1177/1024258916687250
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    15. Douglas Wegner & Alexandre Borba Silveira & Diego Marconatto & Maciej Mitrega, 2024. "A systematic review of collaborative digital platforms: structuring the domain and research agenda," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 18(9), pages 2663-2695, September.
    16. Paula McDonald & Penny Williams & Robyn Mayes & Maria Khan, 2024. "Income generation on care work digital labour platforms," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 62(2), pages 358-380, June.
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    18. Moritz Altenried, 2024. "Mobile workers, contingent labour: Migration, the gig economy and the multiplication of labour," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 56(4), pages 1113-1128, June.
    19. Fuchs Martina & Cumbers Andrew, 2023. "Digitalization and Labor Restructuring," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 67(4), pages 173-176, December.
    20. Aditya Ray, 2024. "Coping with crisis and precarity in the gig economy: ‘Digitally organised informality’, migration and socio-spatial networks among platform drivers in India," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 56(4), pages 1227-1244, June.
    21. Ensar Balkaya & İkram Yusuf Yarbaşı & Muhammed İkbal Tepeler, 2023. "Determinants of Demand in Digital Platform-Mediated Service Work in Turkey: An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-18, July.
    22. Welmah N. Mutengwe & Adrino Mazenda & Moreblessing Simawu, 2024. "Uber's digital labour platform and labour relations in South Africa," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 42(1), January.

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