80977 connectingtowork How information and communication technologies could help expand employment opportunities Siddhartha Raja, Saori Imaizumi, Tim Kelly, Junko Narimatsu, and Cecilia Paradi-Guilford ICT Sector Unit, World Bank September 2013 © 2013 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000 Internet: www.worldbank.org This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. 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Design: Studio Grafik connectingtowork How information and communication technologies could help expand employment opportunities Acknowledgements Many people have supported the development of this policy note and the discussions and consultations that influenced its development. The authors would like to thank Jose Luis Irigoyen (Director, TWI) and Randeep Sudan (Sector Manager, TWICT) for their constant guidance and support. The team would also like to thank Marianne Fay (Chief Economist, SDN), Carlo Rossotto (Lead ICT Policy Specialist, TWICT), and Alan Carroll (Operations Adviser, TWICT) for their support, ideas, and guidance. Our reviewers were Claudia Nassif (Sr. Country Economist, South Asia), Fabrice Houdart (Sr. Country Officer, Middle East & North Africa), Toni Eliasz (ICT Consultant, infoDev), and Yue Li (Economist, South Asia). We also thank the TWICT web team including Naomi Halewood, Catherine Russell, and Adam Stone Diehl, and the team at the Jobs Knowledge Platform, especially Mary Hallward-Driemeier, Claudia Sepulveda, and Jennifer Oko for their support in organizing a global consultation on the topic. And for their administrative support, we thank Hema Nair and Shoaib Zafar. We also offer a special thank you to all the participants in our web and online discussions, including James Manyika and the team at the McKinsey Global Institute, Anupam Khanna (NASSCOM), Elena Kvochko (World Economic Forum), Fabio Rosati and Rich Pearson (Elance), Ally Russell, Gary Swart, and Matt Cooper (oDesk), Jessica Long (Accenture Development Partnerships), Sean Blagsvedt (babajob), Kip Stringfellow (entrepreneur and formerly with the Singularity University), Panos Ipeirotis (NYU Stern School of Business), Vili Lehdonvitra (Oxford Internet Institute & formerly with the LSE Innovation & Co-Creation Lab), Anand Kulkarni (MobileWorks), and the teams at CloudFactory, SoukTel, Jana, and at the European Commission. We apologize for any acknowledgements left out inadvertently. Any residual errors are the authors’ responsibility. tableofcontents 1 Introduction.......................................................................................6 2 ICTs and work....................................................................................8 3 ICT employs workers......................................................................14 4 ICT empowers workers...................................................................22 5 Challenges and risks........................................................................34 6 Enablers for impact..........................................................................40 7 Conclusions and policy recommendations..................................54 8 References & notes...........................................................................56 List of Boxes, Figures, and Tables Box A. ICT supports entrepreneurship opportunities at the bottom of the pyramid..............................................18 Box B. Finding jobs...........................................................................24 Box C. Microwork in the corporate world: A case study.............26 Box D. Impact sourcing: Combining global outsourcing with social impact.................................................................20 Box E. Ranking a location’s ability to attract ICT jobs.................34 Figure 1. Global trends in ICT access and use..................................10 Figure 2. Comparing hourly wages: Online (on Elance) versus national averages....................26 Figure 3. Labor participation and tertiary school enrollment........29 Table 1. Job search techniques in Sri Lanka....................................22 Table 2. Examples of the types of tasks on oDesk...........................25 connectin ngtowork 6 connectingtowork 1. Introduction Information & communication technologies displacement of work. Workers have seen their jobs (ICTs) have been playing an increasingly import- transformed, and students and older workers face ant and complex role in the world of work over labor markets with rapidly evolving skills needs. the past few decades. As a sector, ICT has grown However, these changes are inevitable. ICTs and now employs millions of people worldwide as will become more widespread, and businesses producers and advanced users of ICT tools. The around the world will seek to maximize labor proliferation of ICTs has also helped digitize how productivity. Jobs will move locations, and some people find and do work. As such, ICT is influ- skills will attract a higher demand while others encing employment as an industry and as a tool. might lose relevance. Some countries, regions, These emerging ICT-enabled employment and cities will benefit while others might lose out opportunities matter because countries around on the opportunity. The benefits will shift to those the world are looking to create more good jobs, students, workers, firms, and governments who which have positive economic and social implica- prepare for these changes. tions not only for the worker but also for society.* This brings us to our main question: What could The world will need to create over 600 million governments do to prepare for these changes and jobs by 2030 for unemployment to remain at maximize employment opportunities? This policy current levels.1 As of 2012, more than 600 million note provides a starting point for an answer to young people globally were neither working nor this complex question. studying.2 ICT-enabled employment may help This note is a first step in a planned ongoing address some of this problem, both by creating effort by the World Bank’s ICT sector team to jobs in the ICT sector, and by helping to make understand how ICTs are shaping and changing labor markets more inclusive, innovative, flexible, work, and transforming labor markets, and and transparent. how governments and other stakeholders might These potential gains are not without risks and respond to leverage the growth of ICTs to help challenges. Jobs may be lost due to automation or increase employment opportunities.† * “Good jobs for development are those that make the † Due to limited data availability, as well as the nature of greatest contribution to society, taking into account the this policy note as being a precursor for further analysis, the value they have to the people who hold them, but also their study relies on secondary sources to understand how ICTs potential spillovers on others—positive or negative.� The have influenced employment. The primary intention here World Bank, World Development Report (WDR) 2013: Jobs, is to describe and analyze, and to develop a framework for (Washington DC: The World Bank Group, 2012), 20. further research and analysis. 7 connectingtowork The policy note is structured as follows. After Section 6 discusses in detail the various systems this introduction, Section 2 defines the scope of that will enable greater positive impact of ICT in this note, focusing on the types of employment employment, including the human capital, infra- opportunities due to ICT as a sector and as a structure, financial, regulatory, and social systems tool. It then discusses in detail the global drivers that will enable this trend. This also identifies an behind these opportunities. Section 3 considers initial set of ideas for policy-makers to consider the impact of the ICT sector on employment. that would increase ICT-enabled employment This section covers employment in ICT produc- opportunities, including some enablers for tion such as software programming, IT services, impact. telecommunications. It also identifies some pos- In closing, Section 7 identifies some of the key sible growth areas for the future, such as green strategic themes for governments to consider as technologies and mobile applications. they make the effort to maximize the gains from Section 4 describes how ICTs as tools empower ICT’s increasing role in the world of work. and include more workers in labor markets. Here, we take a perspective of the opportunities available to ICT-enabled workers through online marketplaces and via online employment. Our attention then turns in Section 5 to an analysis of the challenges and risks that appear alongside these opportunities. 8 connectingtowork/icts_and_work 2. ICTs and work The intersections between ICTs and work are for Economic Co-operation and Development numerous. Computers, the Internet, wireless (OECD),3 which includes the following three networks and mobile devices, and the software categories of workers: and applications that use those technologies are now an integral part of work around the world. • ICT specialists, who “develop and put in place They have reshaped the nature of work, the work- the ICT tools for others,� and where the main place, and the relationships among workers and output of the job is ICT; between workers and employers. • Advanced users, i.e., a “competent user of This policy note focuses on two specific inter- advanced, and often sector-specific, software sections within the broad range of ICT-enabled tools,� and where “ICTs are not the main job employment. The first focuses on how ICT has but a tool�; and created jobs as a sector. These ICT jobs are the re- • Basic users, who are “competent users of gener- sult of the growth of the ICT sector, which today ic tools . . . needed for the information society, directly employs millions of people worldwide. e-government and working life,� and where The second focuses on ICTs as tools: they have “ICTs are a tool, not the main job.� been helping more people find work and, as work has become digitized, do work. Such ICT-enabled Every economy will have these categories of work arises from the digitization of the job search ICT jobs to varying extents. For example, the process and of work itself. This section defines OECD’s analysis finds that by 2003, ICT special- these two phenomena and provides an overview ists were 4.7 percent of Sweden’s labor force but of their scope in the developing world. It then only 2.1 percent of Belgium’s.4 The number of discusses the drivers behind these aspects of ICTs full-time equivalent (FTE) telecommunication and work, and closes with a brief discussion of employees, per data collected by the International some of the challenges for employers and workers. Telecommunications Union (ITU), provides some insight into one part of the number of ICT 2.1 ICT jobs specialists in various economies, including the developing world. In 2010, Bhutan had 763 FTEs, The first aspect this policy note discusses is Cambodia had 6,386 FTEs, and Djibouti had 936 how ICT as a sector has generated employment. FTEs (of which a quarter were females).5 This includes ICT jobs, which are directly created Advanced and basic users—together called through the production of ICT and through the ICT-intensive users—also exist in almost every intensive use of ICT. This borrows from a useful economy. Overall, the OECD’s estimates suggest classification proposed by the Organisation that the total of ICT specialists and intensive 9 connectingtowork users accounts for about 20 percent of total em- ICTs are helping workers to find employment. ployment in a range of countries surveyed from Already, online employment marketplaces are North America and Europe.6 helping some 12  million people worldwide† In sum, the ICT sector creates ICT jobs for spe- find work by connecting them with employers cialists who produce ICT, and ICT-intensive users globally. Some of these marketplaces connect who consume ICT. However, there is a lack of data ICT workers with employers worldwide, while about the number of ICT jobs, especially in the others connect workers with employers in local developing world. Indeed, more data was available markets, in a mix of jobs that very often are not in the 1990s, when the sector was dominated by ICT-related. For example, Souktel’s JobMatch telecommunications companies, than there is now, in Palestine, allows jobseekers to advertise their when the proliferation of ICTs has spawned a range skills and connect with potential employers via of businesses across the economy. Consequently, the mobile phone; jobs matched have included this policy note analyzes the impact of ICT jobs, accounting, sales, and IT services.‡ In India, but limits its discussion to secondary sources babajob uses a combination of the Internet and with the intention of furthering the discussion in text messaging on the mobile phone to connect future analytical work. Regarding use, this policy workers to a range of jobs—from housekeepers to note will focus on ICT use in small and medium receptionists to data entry workers.§ enterprises (SMEs), given the important role that ICTs have also been creating new forms of SMEs play in job creation worldwide. work, including microwork—where a larger task is disaggregated into small pieces that are farmed 2.2 ICT-enabled work out to a large number of workers, spreading work and income earning opportunities. Another area The second aspect arises from how ICTs as tools of emerging opportunity is online contracting— are empowering workers by making labor markets where workers find and do work online, often more transparent, innovative, and inclusive. ICTs through Internet-based employment exchanges have made it easier for workers to find jobs and for and platforms. These new forms of work create employers to find skilled workers. As ICTs support opportunities for workers who are less-skilled a trend of increasingly digitized work, they have than those employed in ITES/BPO, and who also enabled innovation in the types of work on might have limited access to ICT. offer. Because ICTs have the potential to connect These opportunities are global, as ICT networks workers to work irrespective of their location, it is and tools have proliferated. An online worker in possible that they could help overcome the social, Jakarta, Indonesia has the potential to earn up cultural, and physical barriers that might otherwise to ten times the average local minimum wage have excluded women or people with disabilities working as a virtual assistant for an employer in from participating in the labor market. At the same the U.K. or Australia. Job seekers can find and time, there are challenges due to the changes in the ways people work and in the relationship between † This is an estimate based on data from oDesk, Elance, and Freelancer. The total does not discount for the same worker employers and workers.* registering across multiple platforms. ‡ Interview with Souktel. * We will discuss these challenges in detail in Section 5. § Interview with babajob.com 10 connectingtowork/icts_and_work apply for work using mobile telephones or the was 25 percent. Over 120 countries have over 80 Internet in places as varied as India, West Bank percent market penetration of mobile telephones.7 & Gaza, the US, and the Philippines. And these This spread of telecommunications, and es- opportunities are not restricted to ‘traditional’ pecially mobile phones and the Internet, means ICT jobs, or to formal sector employment. The that more of the world can engage in digital work, work found can range from carpentry and graph- even as the ICT sector itself is growing. Global ic design to software programming, in both the telecommunications networks now connect formal or informal sectors. A maid in India can billions of individuals, businesses, and organi- find her next job that could increase her wages by zations (Figure 1). Much of the world now uses 20 percent using a mobile phone to connect with mobile phones. More than three billion people an employer. This policy note discusses these and subscribe to mobile telephone services, according other examples. to Wireless Intelligence, a market research firm, and there were some six billion mobile subscrip- 2.3 Drivers of change tions at the start of 2012.8 The International Telecommunication Union Three global drivers are responsible for the (ITU) reports that globally about 2.7 billion increasing role of ICT in work, and having an people use the Internet, with two-thirds of those increasing influence on jobs and employment: users in the developing world.9 The impact of greater connectivity, increasing digitization of the increasing access has been deepened by falling economy, and the globalization of skills. prices. The global average price of one minute of First, the world is ever more connected. Much a mobile telephone call has fallen by 75 percent of the world now uses mobile telephones, and since 2002.10 And devices have become cheaper over two billion people worldwide regularly use too; personal computer prices, for example, have the Internet. In 2011, 70 countries reported that fallen by over 90 percent since the early 1990s.11 over half of their populations were Internet users; Smart phones are now available for as little as in low- and middle-income countries, that figure US$100 and Wi-Fi-powered tablets for even less.12 Figure 1. Global trends in ICT access and use.13 Active mobile broadband Fixed (wired) Individuals using subscriptions percentage of population broadband subscriptions the internet 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 11 connectingtowork The spread of mobile technologies has also geographically. For example, teams around the connected more people to the Internet. The ITU world developed the designs for the Boeing 787 estimates that there are about 2 billion active online, working collaboratively.20 mobile broadband subscriptions.14 The McKinsey Online collaboration and communication tools Global Institute estimates that the wider use of have also percolated to individuals and SMEs, mobile Internet tools will help improve service and many are free or very low-cost. For example, delivery and increase productivity for certain services such as Skype and Google Hangouts have types of work, apart from connecting more peo- made global video conferencing free for those ple to the Internet, especially in the developing connected to the Internet, and collaboration tools world; in doing so, the mobile Internet could such as Google Drive, Basecamp, Adobe Connect generate an annual economic impact of more and Podio are very robust and either free or in- than $3.7 trillion by 2025.15 expensive. These tools are playing a major role in The trend of increased connectivity is comple- facilitating global work.* mented by the growing use of ICT services and With more financial transactions also being tools in more activities. For example, over half of undertaken online or from mobile phones, it is surveyed SMEs in India use the Internet as a sales thus possible for work done and payments made channel.16 Over 60 percent of SMEs surveyed to be entirely electronic. Over US$15 trillion in in Latin America used e-advertising as of 2010, payments were processed worldwide in 2011, although only about 18 percent allowed online many of them electronically.21 Mobile money transactions (which would be an advanced use of services could play a larger role in the future. In ICT).17 In OECD countries, more than 95 percent Kenya, mobile money transactions are already of businesses have an online presence.18 equivalent to more than 20 per cent of that coun- A second trend, supported by the first, is try’s annual GDP.22 that work and indeed, the global economy, is Even manufacturing—which has been seeming- increasingly becoming digital, taking it first to ly less amenable to digitization—is following these the computer and then, via the Internet, online. trends. Increasing virtualization is visible in man- Today, telecommuting and outsourcing have ufacturing with the advent of technologies such as become standard business practices globally. The 3D printing23 and collaborative design and distrib- digitization of work has been running in parallel uted manufacturing,24 and the increasing use of with the growth of the services economy, which advanced robotics, data analytics, and automated is now more than 70 percent of global GDP, and supply chains in the manufacturing process.25 accounts for half of the GDP in even low-income Third, skills demanded have been globalized. countries.19 Multinational value chains enabled by improving Work becoming digital has had two important connectivity and by the disaggregation of work implications: disjoining labor from location; and have also been enabled by the availability of rel- the disaggregation and sharing of work across evant skills, often at lower costs but comparable space and time. Put another way, much work can quality, globally. Global outsourcing, for example, now be done online and from anywhere, and one arose from the availability of talented technical task can now be done by teams that are dispersed * Inputs from oDesk. 12 connectingtowork/icts_and_work “Multinational value chains enabled by improving connectivity and by the disaggregation of work have also been enabled by the availability of relevant skills, often at lower costs but comparable quality, globally� 13 connectingtowork workers in developing countries such as India. 2.4 The challenges It also resulted from the ability of many of these workers to speak and work in English. The lan- The proliferation of ICTs and their increasing guage skill is also one reason why the Philippines role in how and where we work creates opportu- have become a major outsourcing hub. Similarly, nities, but also poses new challenges for workers countries such as Egypt have grown their IT- and employers alike. Many analysts have focused enabled services business—now employing more on how increased efficiencies due to ICT may than 45,000 people—due in part to language lead to job losses, at least in the short term. As skills. As one industry expert explains, “Egypt ICTs become part of specific economic activities, has 330,000 new graduates every year, with some they will make some skills and jobs redundant. 31,000 capable of speaking different languages. The dislocation of work means that ICTs could For example, English is spoken by about 26,000; and would continue to displace jobs that are around 3,000 speak French, while approximately easily automated, for example. These jobs will 800 speak German.�26 move to lower-cost labor pools, again facilitated The global skills market and the disaggregation by technology.29 of work have also led to what one group of ac- But other challenges exist as well. As ICT en- ademics term the “age of hyperspecialization.�27 ables new forms of work, it also changes the struc- To summarize, as the number of workers expands ture of jobs, the way people develop their careers, and their access to work opportunities grows, and the way they work. Many ICT-enabled jobs it will be possible for workers to become very are temporary or contract-based, for example, highly specialized in particular tasks. Such hy- leading to a separation of work from social safety perspecialization can exist only with global scale nets such as health insurance or pensions. And and high quality in skills development, and will where divides in access to ICT, language barriers, rely on ensuring useful information for workers or skills deficits exist, workers might lose out on to align their training and competencies to global these employment opportunities, limiting peo- market demands. ples’ access to connect to work and find pathways Such specialization occurs at the individual but out of poverty. Jobs in the ICT sector, or ICT- also the country level. For example, as A. T. Kearney enabled employment opportunities elsewhere in notes in its assessment of countries’ strengths in IT- the economy, might not have a uniform positive enabled services, Latin American countries have a impact everywhere. range of skill sets: Brazil in software development This policy note discusses these challenges in and systems integration, Mexico for outsourcing, Section 5. Chile for R&D and analytics etc.28 These analyses are evidence of a global network of skills, which enables employers to go beyond their local labor markets and find talent anywhere. 14 connectingtowork/ict_employs_workers 3. ICT employs workers As a sector, ICT employs workers globally in 3.1 Trends and forecasts ICT jobs. For this policy note, we include in ICT for ICT jobs jobs those people who work in the ICT sector as specialists and who are intensive users of ICT. ICT jobs continue to grow. In Europe, for This section begins with a discussion of em- example, employment among ICT practitioners ployment generated by the ICT sector, including grew by around 3 percent a year, with demand for ICT specialists and ICT intensive users. With ICT labor outstripping the supply. The OECD has also specialists who produce ICT, we discuss the spill- found that ICT employment continues to grow, over effects generated in economies where the with the top firms hiring more than 14 million ICT sector is active. It is thus useful to note that people worldwide in 2011, up 6 percent from while the size of the ICT sector itself may vary 2010.30 Dongier & Sudan find that “the expansion across countries and may be small in many cases, of IT services and ITES . . . industries [has] cre- each country has the possibility of benefiting ated jobs, raised incomes, and increased exports from ICT jobs.* and GDP.� In India, for example, the IT services We then discuss the employment effects of the and ITES industries “directly employ 2.01 million use of ICT, focusing on small & medium sized people in jobs that pay 50 to 100 percent more enterprises (SMEs). Here, as research suggests, than comparable service sector jobs.�31 the effects are more complex, with the possibility The job creating impact of ICT also includes the of ICT-intensive users causing increases in labor mobile ecosystem, in associated activities such as productivity that may actually cause job losses for mobile applications and content development, as others. Furthermore, the advances in technology well as in mobile-related service delivery. In the have created growth areas for the future, such as U.S., the mobile app industry provided an esti- green ICT and mobile applications, but could mated 466,000 jobs in 2011 with annual growth also lead to challenges for workers who might be rates of up to 45 percent from 2010 to 2011 replaced by smarter machines, for example, or see (TechNet 2012). Safaricom’s M-PESA mobile ICTs alter traditional business models. money transfer system supports 23,000 jobs for agents in Kenya alone.32 New techniques and tools also contribute to the increase in the number of ICT jobs. For instance, recent developments in the manipulation of large datasets, so called “big data,� will likely lead to an * This discussion on the employment impact of ICT as a increase in demand for those skills. Gartner, an sector is an initial step in a planned series of knowledge products and hence is more descriptive in nature, and based IT consultancy, projects that by 2015, big data on existing research and resources. Future work on this topic will expand on the themes outlined here. will generate over 4.4 million jobs worldwide.33 15 connectingtowork The GSM Association, a club of mobile network due to the introduction of ICTs in their industries operators and vendors, estimates that the global and workplaces. We discuss the challenges in mobile industry ecosystem will add 1.3 million Section 5. jobs up to 2018.34 This growth often outpaces the average across 3.2 ICT production the economy. For example, the Philippines’ and ICT specialists employment in business process outsourcing is expected to increase by 15 percent to 567,000 Per the OECD’s definitions as discussed above, in 2013. The local industry association reports, “ICT specialists,� include “programmers, software Business Process Association of the Philippines developers but also cable layers,�36 for whom ICT (BPAP), reports that jobs growth since 2007 is “at is the main part of their job—“they develop and least five times higher than the average employ- put in place the ICT tools for others.� For OECD ment growth in the country.� Incomes are also countries, employment in the ICT sector and higher. An entry-level position can have “a basic ICT specialist jobs in other sectors together ac- monthly salary of about P12,000 to P13,000,� count for between three and five percent of total (around US$300) which is 38 percent higher than employment.37 Extrapolating from this, we could the minimum wage.35 thus estimate that ICT specialists number 100 Given these effects arising from the growth of million globally, out of the global labor force of the ICT sector and increases in the number of 3.4 billion (as of 2011); this contribution varies ICT specialists, many governments are keen to across countries. develop the industry and expand the use of ICT The number of ICT specialists may also seem in their countries. Apart from considering the small in comparison to the global labor force. ways in which the demand for labor could be However, these jobs tend to be better paid, attract increased, in the case of ICT employing workers, highly skilled individuals, and have significant governments will also need to consider how they spillover and indirect job creating effects. The rest will drive the supply of labor, especially as in most of this section focuses on these effects. developing countries, public education is domi- The first indirect impact is in the multiplying nant including at the tertiary level. effect that ICT specialists have on their local Here, the development of a skilled workforce is economies. For example, in India, one job in critical, alongside the creation of a favorable busi- the IT/BPO industry created up to four indirect ness climate. Hence, ambitions to increase ICT jobs.38 In the Philippines, for example, estimates employment need to be put in the context of local suggest “that each new job created in IT services enabling systems that would accelerate ICT sector and ITES . . . results in two to three new jobs in development and the expected subsequent job other sectors . . . as employees consume housing, creation. We will identify and discuss the role of food, transport, and consumer goods and em- these enabling systems subsequently in Section 6. ployers invest in telecommunications, building There are also possible negative impacts of the rentals, water, and other core services.�39 In Latin greater use of ICTs on employment. Some people America, the effect was seen to be 2.4 new jobs in might lose their jobs or find their work displaced other sectors of the economy for every job in the 16 connectingtowork/ict_employs_workers ICT sector.40 Research on high technology jobs in actively promoted itself as a low-cost destination the U.S., which included a range of ICT related for call centers and ranks fourth in the world in industries,* found that for each high technology the Global Services Location Index for 2011, de- job created, the local economy saw an expansion veloped by A.T. Kearney, a consultancy. Similarly, of four jobs.41 in Africa, four countries find mention among the Indirect employment is associated with the ICT top 50 locations in the index: Ghana (27), Senegal sector in areas such as application development, (29), Mauritius (36) and South Africa (45).44 content provision, and call center operations. And even though much attention is focused This is a growing area of employment. In some on job creation challenges, another simultaneous emerging markets, for example “outsourcing challenge is that globally, skills gaps are widening. of mobile content development can also create For example, in Europe, there is a projected short- significant numbers of indirect jobs. In India fall of up to 900,000 ICT professionals by 2015, alone, the mobile industry is expected to generate exacerbated by a decline in computing science around 7 million indirect jobs during 2012.�42 graduates.45 The McKinsey Global Institute pre- While these effects are positive, they are also dicts that by 2020 “there will be [a] 38 million-40 unevenly distributed across geographies. Many million potential shortage of college-educated ICT specialist jobs related to software and hard- workers.�46 ware development are concentrated in a few Governments thus have the opportunity, at places, such as Silicon Valley in the US, or in the least in some cases, to create additional employ- Republic of Korea, for example. IT enabled ser- ment in ICT production. They will need to ensure vices jobs are more distributed, even though that that they are able to attract and sustain invest- work is also dominated by a few countries such as ments and participation in the ICT sector, and India, Mexico, and the Philippines. simultaneously ensure the availability of a local However, other countries are also entering the talent pool. Such locational readiness has been fray. Armenia, for example, has an ICT sector that discussed elsewhere.47 This policy note will also is creating jobs, with many jobs going to women. turn to that discussion subsequently. Employment in the ICT sector in 2010 included 5,000 professionals, and the average monthly 3.3 The use of ICT: salary of ICT specialists was 4-5 times higher The case of SMEs than average salary levels.43 In ITES, Egypt has Apart from their production, ICTs have an *This research included the following ‘high-technology’ industries: pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing, impact on job creation and displacement through computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing, their use. The scope of these impacts is almost communications equipment manufacturing, semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing, universal. No sector or country is untouched navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control by ICT. This has implications for productivity instruments manufacturing, aerospace product and parts manufacturing, software publishers, internet publishing and of firms and labor, creating a complex set of broadcasting, other telecommunications, internet service interactions that have varying implications for providers and web search portals, data processing, hosting, and related services, architectural, engineering, and related employment. services, computer systems design and related services, scientific research-and-development services. The effect is global, but it is uneven, with 17 connectingtowork varying gains and losses. The World Economic the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, revealed Forum estimates that in 2011, the penetration of that on average entrepreneurs expanded their digital services (digitization) contributed US$193 workforce by 16 percent in 2011 and that they billion to the global economy and created 6 mil- anticipate creating more jobs in the coming years. lion jobs. But the effect of this process is uneven in Among those employers, 44 percent expect to various countries. Developed countries see most expand their workforce abroad.52 of the value of “digitization� effects in increases in productivity and growth. Emerging economies, 3.3.2 The impact on SMEs however, see the increase in the number of jobs SMEs could employ both ICT specialists and created by ICT. Regions of East Asia, South Asia ICT- intensive users, depending on their prod- and Latin America created the most number ucts and services. of jobs in the digitized environment; 4 million The continuous growth of ICT has transformed jobs were generated in 2011 in these parts of the SMEs by facilitating their access to global mar- world. For OECD countries, the Forum suggests kets, clients, and consumers, by increasing pro- that increased digitization will lead to job losses, ductivity, and increasing the efficiency of business but increases in productivity.48 operations. In Europe, SMEs that adopted the Here we focus on how the use of ICTs by SMEs Internet were found to grow faster.53 has influenced employment. We focus on SMEs ICT has also facilitated entrepreneurship by due to their critical role in job creation broadly, lowering initial investment requirements and and find that ICT could play a positive role in permitting access to scale markets. For example, enabling job creation at SMEs. SMEs that sell their products on Etsy, an e-com- merce website for handmade and vintage items, 3.3.1 The role of SMEs in job creation immediately get access to 60 million visitors ev- SMEs are essential sources of jobs and inno- ery month.54 Those participating on Alibaba.com, vation, contributing to overall economic growth. an e-commerce website for business-to-business For example, in the European Union, 23 million transactions, have access to 37 million users from SMEs provide around 75 million jobs and repre- 240 countries.55 The Internet allows unprecedent- sent 99 percent of all enterprises.49 In the United ed access to global markets. It also has implica- States, startups create on average 3 million jobs tions for SME growth, and related employment annually while existing firms lose 1 million net opportunities. jobs per year.50 Enhanced use of ICT by firms has proven to re- From the job creation side, even during the duce transaction costs and improve productivity economic recession, job creation at startups has and growth. One World Bank study found that remained stable while existing firms tend to be firms that use ICT grow faster, invest more and highly sensitive to the business cycle.51 are more productive and profitable, with sales In developing countries, SMEs and startups are growth and profitability reaching 3.4 and 5.1 increasingly becoming drivers of job creation and percentage points higher, respectively, compared local innovation. A recent survey conducted with to firms that do not us ICT.56 Some argue that over 8,000 entrepreneurs in 35 countries across increased productivity without growth in their 18 connectingtowork/ict_employs_workers outputs delivers increased competitiveness but Now, the rapid diffusion of broadband and fewer jobs.57 While productivity growth remains mobile technologies is enabling these businesses important, it is no longer sufficient. There is a to expand by gaining access to global markets need for SMEs to grow their revenues by lever- and expertise without large investments in infra- aging innovative ICT solutions, particularly for structure to reach scale. In this process, a major increasing access to global and local markets. role is being played by innovative applications Other studies find that those SMEs that are such as Amazon’s Web Service, Google Apps for investing in Web technologies such as e-mail, web Business, Facebook, Skype, and Twitter, which sites, cloud-computing, and e-business solutions have built new foundations for successful ICT- are the ones growing the fastest. SMEs that spend enabled businesses globally. more than 30 percent of their budget on Web Online platforms also create entrepreneurship technologies grow their revenue nine times as fast opportunities for those who are at the bottom of as SMEs spending less than 10 percent.58 the pyramid (BOP, see Box A). Box A. ICT supports entrepreneurship opportunities at the bottom of the pyramid Kopernik, a nonprofit funded in 2010 delivering simple, affordable, and innovative technologies like water filters and solar lanterns to poor communities living at the BOP, connects producers of innovative technologies, communities that need them, and donors, through an online marketplace facilitating the movement of money, technology, and information to improve the lives of the poor. In one of their projects, funded by ExxonMobil, women in Bojonegoro in East Java became technology agents to sell products to their community. Starting from participating in “tech fairs� held in a number of villages to introduce various technologies, the women then formed groups, each identifying a coordinator and treasurer, to sell the technologies at an appropriate price to relatives, friends and neighbors in their villages. Today the cooperative has more than 40 members and is becoming well-known in the local area. They are often invited by the local government to represent the community in Bojonegoro at public events. Their core activity has been selling Nazava water filters, which are purchased at US$14 and sold at US$19 in cash or US$21 in three installments. The women have sold water filters to more than 20 villages in Bojonegoro – greatly expanding access to safe, clean drinking water in the area. Source: Authors, Interview with Kopernik (April, 2013). 19 connectingtowork 3.3.3 The impact on job creation 3.4 New avenues for Some research finds that ICT use by SMEs has job creation positive implications for job creation. Research done in eight EU member states found, around New systems and services, many of which are 70% of job vacancies for ICT professionals are ICT-enabled, also hold the potential for job cre- found in SMEs.59 ation. Here, we focus on three possibilities: green OECD research has also found that SMEs that technologies, mobile applications, and cloud com- were more technology intensive tended to grow puting and big data. We also discuss an emerging faster. This is not limited to SMEs in the ICT sec- technical breakthrough—smart machines—that tor, but includes SMEs across the economy who could have implications for employment. can innovate, link with markets using technology, and hence, grow quickly.60 It is possible to deduce 3.4.1 Green technologies that there would be positive employment effects Another area showing potential for ICT- from such growth. enabled job creation is green growth. One OECD The McKinsey Global Institute finds that SMEs report proposes that promoting ICT skills in that use the Internet tend to create 2.6 jobs for the green and smart economies pays a double every job displaced.61 The effect was even more dividend by encouraging job creation and accel- pronounced in developing countries, where the erating the transition to green growth.64 These ratio was 3.2 jobs created for every job displaced jobs vary from protecting the environment and by the Internet.62 Indeed, this survey of more than reducing the harmful effects human activity has 4,800 SMEs found that SMEs that integrated the on it (mitigation), to helping to better cope with Internet into their businesses created twice as current climate change conditions (adaptation).65 many jobs as the average.63 This is for SMEs that In particular, additional job growth in ICT is opeate in the ICT sector and across other sectors expected to come from the demand across sectors as well, which underscores the potential benefits for developing customized “smart� applications of ICT for job creation in the whole economy. such as “smart� grids, “smart� transport systems One must remember that adopting ICTs alone and “smart� buildings. “Smart� applications rely will not address fundamental (external) concerns directly on ICTs, and the availability of ICT that might otherwise prevent SMEs from grow- skills is crucial for meeting the demand and for ing, including a weak business climate, a limited achieving the aims of many of these policies. For talent pool, or limited access to finance. These example, estimates have suggested that deploy- factors need to be taken together—SMEs that ment of “smart� grids could create approximately grow can invest in people and in technology. We 280,000 new jobs by 2012 in the United States.66 address these issues in Section 6. There will also be a surge in induced job creation related to installing and maintaining systems that smart buildings use to control lighting and tem- perature. Given the role of digital technologies in these systems, ICT-skilled workers will be in demand here too. 20 connectingtowork/ict_employs_workers “Smart� solutions for cities, to build resilience 3.4.2 Mobile applications and respond effectively to natural disasters, will ICT SMEs are also benefiting from innovation give rise to new business/job opportunities. There in the use of IT-based and wireless technologies. will be need for ICT infrastructure (e.g., data The growing penetration of the mobile telephone centers) and services to store, process, and ana- all over the world, and the development of the lyze the massive amount of information captured mobile phone applications industry have also from various sensor networks, observation sys- created an opportunity for entrepreneurs and tems, and mobile networks to develop systems for SMEs to enter the market with ease. These mobile all stages of disaster risk management, including application developers are able to access large early warning systems, emergency coordination, markets quickly. and recovery. For example, in Japan, the govern- A company that publishes an application on the ment has implemented a coordinated data distri- Apple app store, for example, gains access to some bution project for the monitoring of radiation, 500 million app store account holders.68 Similarly, where SIM-enabled devices located in farmlands, developers who publish to the Google Play app parks, offices, and danger and evacuation zones store get access to over 900 million activated use mobile networks to transmit measures of Android devices worldwide.69 These develop- radiation.67 These opportunities are not limited ments have significant possible employment im- to large corporations but also impact a growing pacts. In the United States, the mobile application market for SMEs, entrepreneurs, and individual industry provided an estimated 466,000 jobs in software developers. 2011 with annual growth rates of up to 45 percent Finally, jobs will be created in greening the ICT from 2010 to 2011.70 sector itself. For example, server consolidation by providing “cloud computing� services across 3.4.3 Cloud computing and big data sectors is expected to enable further efficiency by Cloud computing shifts computing resources increasing utilization rates and reducing energy to the network and allows users to access large required for power and cooling. Workers will scale hardware or software resources quickly and also be needed to support these data centers and cheaply. Cloud computing has allowed companies other ICT infrastructures that are vital enablers to focus less on securing and managing IT re- of smart solutions that would enable energy effi- sources, and use existing platforms to develop and ciency in other sectors. deploy their services and products. This has al- Governments that drive green growth strategies lowed some companies to start up faster, focus on will require people capable of both greening ICT their core operations, but also reduce the number itself and helping ICT to make other activities of employees who might otherwise have managed greener. Additionally, there will be increasing de- IT systems. Hence, even as cloud computing has mand for ICT skills to reduce vulnerabilities and helped start up more ICT SMEs, for example, it build resilience to the impacts of climate change. might have also reduced the size of those startups. The projections are that cloud computing will create jobs, but also create skills gaps.71 21 connectingtowork Cloud systems, combined with increasingly As such systems proliferate and improve, dispersed sensors and the digitization of business MIT’s Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee and social transactions, have also spawned inter- suggest that more structured service jobs might est in ‘big data.’ Big data refers to the collection, be lost. At the same time, these advances could management, and manipulation of very large empower workers who “race with the machines,� data sets to support decision making and derive and learn to use these technologies in their work. new insights. For example, firms can now use For example, IBM’s Watson computer, which has these technologies to analyze millions of trades battled chess and trivia champions, is now part on stock exchanges, data on credit card trans- of a decision-support application for oncologists. actions, or stores’ shopping records, to detect Such examples of working together will in- patterns, identify opportunities for efficiency crease, creating demands for new skills among enhancements, or even synthesize predictions workers to be able to manipulate and use machine about behavior. Again, estimates suggest that big intelligence to supplement creative and complex data techniques could create more jobs than there tasks.74 Although this is a futuristic possibility, would be skilled professionals to fill them.72 it is nevertheless useful to consider given that machines will likely replace low-skill or easily 3.4.4 Smart machines: A future possibility automated mid-level skill jobs. With many of Many organizations and academics have those jobs flowing to the developing world from attempted to predict how technology will shape the more advanced economies, governments the future of work. The Apollo Research Institute will need to keep track of these technologies and and the Institute for the Future propose in a ensure that their workforce is ready for the future. report about work skills in 2030 that, “global connectivity, smart machines, and new media are just some of the drivers reshaping how we think about work, what constitutes work, and the skills we will need to be productive contributors in the future.�73 Here, we focus on the emerging trend for smarter technologies to both potentially replace but also enhance human workers. As computing power increases and telecom- munications networks expand, machines are able to learn and do more. For example, Google is already testing self-driving cars in California, and the Apple iPhone’s Siri, which responds to natural voice commands, could challenge call centers in finding information. 22 connectingtowork/ict_empowers_workers 4. ICT empowers workers ICTs also empower workers—including those who are not connected to the Internet. And greater who are not ICT specialists or advanced intensive impact is possible. Vodafone, a global mobile workers—in three ways. First, they make labor telecommunications company, estimates that job markets more transparent, especially in how people finding services that use mobile phones to connect find work in local or global markets. Second, ICTs seasonal and informal workers to employers could enable innovation in labor markets by introducing attract 49 million users, create successful connec- and supporting new forms of work. And third, tions to 12 million jobs, and provide an annual in some cases, even traditionally marginalized livelihood benefit of over $5 billion up to 2020.76 groups (e.g., people with disabilities, women), and Recent evidence from Sri Lanka, for example, the poorest people with limited skills and access suggests that up to 8 percent of jobs are found to technology might be able to participate in labor through mobile or Internet-based listings, even markets. This section documents and analyzes among low-income populations (Table 1). these three emerging opportunities. Table 1. Job search techniques in Sri Lanka* 4.1 Making labor markets Female Male more transparent and efficient Job search technique (%) (%) Through mobile/Internet 7.7 8.0 Finding employment generally begins with Through private 0.4 0.7 some kind of job search. Job searchers have tra- employment agency ditionally relied on their familial or other social Through university/school 5.6 1.7 career office networks. But labor markets are not always trans- Through social network 35.6 43.0 parent, and job searches may be inefficient, with (friends/relatives) information gaps preventing potential employers Employer contacted you 4.4 8.0 and skilled employees from connecting with each Contacted employer 5.8 9.2 other. ICT has the potential to make labor mar- directly kets more transparent and efficient. The greater Started own business 36.0 25.1 use of technology in job searches—long depen- Job obtained after training/ 2.6 2.8 dent on public funding—has also coincided with apprentices the increasing private provision of this service.75 Inheriting a business 0.4 1.3 There is a range of online job search tools, ac- By the government 1.4 0.3 cessed via the Internet, that have become popular worldwide. Now, a new set of job search tools that * Author’s calculation using data from the Skills Toward use mobile technologies apart from Internet in- Employment and Productivity (STEP) Skills Measurement Survey 2012, in Sri Lanka. In this case, at least, it is useful to note terfaces have the potential of reaching even those that the use of ICT does not appear to vary much by gender. 23 connectingtowork Similar results are found elsewhere. A 2010 steady flow of jobs, and creating a reputation of survey of employers in Pakistan’s Sindh province trust and credibility.80 Even if they are private ef- found that some 14 percent surveyed reported forts, having the enablers in place will help ensure using the Internet to fill jobs. Notably, 90 percent their long-term sustainability. of employers surveyed were SMEs.77 Such tools, which use mobile and Internet 4.2 Making labor markets interfaces, also serve non-ICT and informal more innovative workers. One example is babajob, an India-based service that connects job seekers to employers ICT supports innovations that have created especially in the informal sector using a mix of new forms of employment and work. These could mobile and Internet based tools. Founded in 2007 also help in increasing the number of available in Bangalore, babajob has half a million registered jobs. Some of this has been underway for some job-seekers and some 60,000 employers offering time. As this policy note discusses earlier, out- positions for jobs ranging from cooks, maids, sourcing activities have become a major jobs chauffeurs, and data entry workers, to office staff. creator in some countries. Outsourcing directly babajob reports that those finding positions on employs over 3.4 million people across Egypt, the system have an average 20 percent higher India, and the Philippines, for example. Now, wage than before. babajob segments its user base newer approaches to work have the potential to into the unconnected poor (living on less than create more jobs. about US$55 a month) and the middle-class job These new types of work—like outsourcing— seekers that earn more.78 rely on ICT to increase access to global employ- Another approach is offered by the start-up ment and income generation opportunities. Such Duma, based in Nakuru, Kenya. Created in 2012, online work generally exploits wage differences Duma is an SMS-based service that matches peo- across geographies, or consists of tasks that ma- ple to job openings and companies to qualified chines cannot perform effectively or efficiently employees based on their social network, skills, without human intervention. Here, we focus on and geographic location. It is intended, in par- two innovations. The first is online contracting, ticular, for short-term tasks (e.g., for marketing, which may be defined as a retail form of outsourc- or event organization) where a group of people ing. This allows not only larger firms, but also need to be recruited quickly. Duma works with individuals and SMEs to connect with workers a geographically tagged database of potential globally who complete tasks via online interfaces. employees, especially students, and then uses so- Online contracting today mostly digitizes exist- cial networks to build up the group to match the ing types of work, and unsurprisingly, much of it employers’ requirements. Duma has over 1,500 is ICT-related work. However, as we will discuss workers in its database and has matched over 350 below, a significant portion of online contracting workers to jobs in December 2012.79 Other exam- is for non-ICT work. ples of job search tools are discussed in Box B. Microwork is another new form of work that has These tools face a range of challenges, however, become possible because of the ability of ICT to including ensuring financial sustainability, a coordinate work across geographically dispersed 24 connectingtowork/ict_empowers_workers Box B. Finding jobs A number of services connect job seekers with work, using a combination of mobile and Internet tools. Souktel serves six countries in the Middle East and Africa, targeting students, BOP communities, and marginalized communities depending on the coun- try. It claims to have reduced the average time to search a job from 12 weeks to just one week in the West Bank and Gaza. Other services include Assured Labor, which operates in Brazil, Nicaragua, and Mexico; LabourNet in India; and M-Kazi in Kenya. The value propositions for these services are summarized in the table below. Table: Value proposition for mobile job-search and job-matching services Target Audience Value Propositions Employers • More qualified candidates can be hired through increasing the candidate pool, by expanding a recruiting channel from traditional newspaper or radio advertisements to mobile phone users • Reduce recruiting cost by switching the recruiting channel from a manpower agency • Reduce recruiting time by receiving candidates’ latest information on a real-time basis • Ability to hire people for entry level and low-skill level job, which is sometimes difficult to conduct with existing recruiting services • Increased hiring efficiency due to automatic match filtering that only lets those qualified ‘“see� the job posting, thus reducing applicant volume and increasing applicant quality Job Seekers • Reduce time and cost for registering their profile to find a job, which have been previously done through manpower agency, website, or paying someone to professionally create their CV • Reduce time and cost for job search by cutting a travel cost from rural to urban area and receiving job matching information via mobile phone • Increase the chance of employment through getting access to more job openings information in a quick and cost-efficient manner, and receiving advice, training, and services to make their work experience and skills look more professional and attractive to employers • Potential increase of income by accessing a better job 25 connectingtowork individuals. Microwork implies dividing a larger marketplaces. However, jobs in other areas, such task into smaller “microtasks,� farming those as graphic design, animation, music, writing, and tasks out to workers, and then re-aggregating even legal services, are also growing. For example, them to derive the final output. as of July 2013, about half of the jobs on oDesk The main motivations for employers to use were non-technology related.* Elance similarly these services are cost savings, reduction of hiring estimates that creative skills are most demanded time, access to talent, and flexibility to scale up (40 percent), followed by IT & programming (39 and down. Online contracting and microwork percent).81 brings the work to the worker rather than the These opportunities are global. Even countries worker to the work, and allows companies to with limited Internet use such as Papua New access global labor pools in a flexible way. Guinea (where only 2 percent of the population use the Internet), have had workers participate 4.2.1 Online contracting using oDesk.82 But the types of work vary by It is possible today for an individual or company country, reflecting different skills and variations to hire qualified workers via online employment in costs, as displayed in Table 1. This suggests marketplaces. These marketplaces go beyond the variation in competencies and skills while simple job search/matching functionalities, how- suggesting that the role of ICT in creating global ever. They include detailed assessments of the labor pools might not have a unilateral effect— workers’ (and employers’) performance and qual- there might not be a uniform shift of jobs to other ity, measures of competency, often including tools locations. to monitor workers as they work, and including payment systems and dispute resolution mech- Table 1. Examples of the types of tasks on anisms. In some cases, these online contracting oDesk83 systems provide training and some basic services U.S. Pakistan (e.g., health insurance) for workers. workers workers Type of task % % Online contracting differs from traditional out- sourcing as it is not structured around long-term Blog & article writing 14 7 and large volume arrangements. Rather, when Web programming 7 14 smaller employers such as SMEs or individuals Graphic design 4 7 need support in some task or project, these Data entry 4 7 services offer an efficient means to find, recruit, manage, and pay qualified individuals to perform Elance data also show that online workers on those tasks. their site tend to earn significantly more than Some of the more popular services include national averages, represented as GDP per capita oDesk and Elance. In 2012, about 2.5 million jobs per work hour (Figure 2). In line with expecta- were posted on these services, for tasks ranging tions that global labor markets will smooth out from writing to customer service to software divergences in wages, the average hourly rates development. Information technology (IT) jobs of online workers also show a smaller variation form the majority of those posted on these virtual * Author’s analysis based on information from oDesk.com. 26 connectingtowork/ict_empowers_workers Figure 2. Comparing hourly wages: Online (on Elance) versus national averages* 30 Hourly GDP per capita 25 eLance 20 15 10 5 0 Brazil Spain Algeria India Kenya * Authors, based on Elance Trends: https://www.elance.com/trends/talent-available. by geography. Incomes also tend to increase for The sources of work have been concentrated in these workers. Anecdotal reports suggest that developed countries, but employers in developing some workers even see increases in their hourly countries are now becoming more active. For ex- rates of up to ten times in about two years. ample, employers from India now represent nine The40results suggest global impact. In 2012, percent of all jobs posted on the Freelancer.com. oDesk 35had freelancers from 179 countries work This makes India the third largest country by em- 35 million 30 hours and earn $360 million on that ployers after the U.S. and the United Kingdom. 25 platform. Nearly 2 out of 3 online workers gener- And workers in the U.S. are hired by Indian con- 20 ate at least half of their family’s income on oDesk, tractors 3.2 percent of the time.86 15 and more than 40 percent of workers in emerging Many of the workers using Elance and oDesk 10 economies 5 say that oDesk work accounts for are highly qualified and may even have full time most or 0 all of their family income. Similarly, 48 * employment, supplementing their incomes 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 percent of Elance workers report that online work through these avenues. Of the workers who use is their main source of income.84 Elance, for example, 42 percent have a Bachelor’s 30 The size of online contracting is significant. Master’s degree and 24 percent have aHourly GDP degree.§ per capita 25 projects that the market is US$1 trillion Elance A third of them are employed either full- or eLance 20 † Worker earnings grew more than 20 globally. part-time.87 times15from 2007 to 2011 to reach US$225 mil- As people face difficulties in finding work in lion.10 85 Freelancer, another service, has enabled their own economies, yet seek to live there, on- over 4.5 million projects, with a value of over line contracting could thus prove to be a boon, 5 US$1.1 billion.‡ enabling counter cyclical income earning oppor- 0 Brazil Spain Algeria India tunities. KenyaAnd these trends could have a multiply- * Information provided by oDesk. ing effect; these platforms have begun to see some † Interview with Elance. ‡ Information from Freelancer: http://www.freelancer.com/ § Interview with Elance. 27 connectingtowork individuals beginning to hire others through the aggregators that can outsource small tasks, uti- same platforms to assist them in their work, some lizing virtual currency as rewards. For instance, even setting up virtual SMEs.88 For example, 42 CrowdFlower, a platform that outsources tasks to percent of Elance freelancers plan to hire other groups to solve problems ranging from product freelancers in 2013.¶ categorization to business lead verification, out- sourced half of its tasks in 2009 through online 4.2.2 Microwork gaming channels and paid for them with virtual Microwork has also generated significant cash, according to the company.90 opportunities for many workers worldwide.** The global market size for microwork cannot Workers access these opportunities via online be easily estimated given its nascent state and platforms (some with mobile interfaces) that fragmentation. However, analysts suggest that the provide employers with access to a global labor market size is about $1 billion today, and could pool. These platforms break down large pieces grow to about $5 billion within another 5 years. of business processes into discrete tasks of lim- The average revenue of aggregators, although ited sizes, and distribute them to workers across from limited sources, seems to range from $60 geographic boundaries. Examples of microwork million to $300 million.†† include market research, data input, sentiment Some platforms provide a matching service, analysis, data verification, copywriting, graphic and even additional services such as tools and design, translation, and even software testing.89 training for microworkers, and mechanisms One case study of how microwork has been used for quality control. For example, CloudFactory in a corporate setting is in Box C. organizes microworkers into solidarity groups to There has been rapid growth in the number of support peer-to-peer learning and training. This microwork aggregators and microworkers from allows CloudFactory to leverage a reproducible various parts of the world. The aggregators include approach and social capital for operational ef- Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT),CloudFactory, fectiveness and microworker development. As a MobileWorks, Samasource, Servio, ShortTask, quality control, CloudFactory assigns the same and Clickworker, who outsource microwork to task to several people to ensure quality.91 anonymous users and provide supplementary Samasource positions itself in the middle of the income to global virtual workers. supply chain and manages separate relationships Gaming platforms are also one of the with customers and delivery centers. Full-time workers around the world access SamaHub, a ¶ Input from Elance, May 2013. ** Online contracting and microwork are typically proprietary online work distribution system, differentiated by the size and sophistication of the tasks to from delivery centers monitored by Samasource be completed. Online contracting involves typically larger, more creative projects (creating a market research report, staff. Account managers and quality assurance a software program, a power-point presentation); and professionals ensure task quality, accuracy, and can be "outsourced" abroad to specific, mostly individual professionals with specific skills. Microwork tasks are turnaround time92 typically much smaller in size, which allows for significantly Probably the most widely known microwork higher integration in automated workflows and quality management. However, the boundary between these two platform is Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT), forms of online work is blurring (e.g., in the case of logo and graphic design, or in the case of logistical services). †† Interview with Panos Ipeirotis. 28 connectingtowork/ict_empowers_workers Box C. Microwork in the corporate world: A case study CastingWords is an online, ICT-enabled transcription service that uses the Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT) platform to transcribe speech into text rapidly. AMT takes a 10 percent commission for use of its platform. Anyone interested in using the tran- scription service sends an audio file to CastingWords, which then breaks the file up into smaller pieces and farms it out to transcriber microworkers. Those microworkers listen to these pieces of audio and send back the transcription, which is automatically reformed into one file. The service is being used by many large organizations including the Wall Street Journal, the BBC, and NASA. It costs between $1 to $2.50 per minute of audio, based on turn- around time desired and the expertise of the microworker doing the transcription. Sources: Authors based on http://www.topcoder.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Hyperspecialization.pdf; https://castingwords.com/support/about-us.html; http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/05/technology/techspe- cial4/05lego.html?ex=1301889600&en=9294046d7c3d82ca&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rsstechsp ecial4/05lego.html?ex=1301889600&en=9294046d7c3d82ca&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss which emerged from Amazon, the world’s largest compared to those from the United States.93 For online retailer. AMT is estimated to have 500,000 workers, the main motivations to take up these microworkers in 190 countries. The service en- opportunities are the flexibility of this work and ables companies to access a diverse, on-demand the supplemental/discretionary income opportu- workforce, assign tasks needing human intelli- nity. Most AMT workers earn between $10,000 gence, and then programmatically integrate the and $20,000 annually. results of that work into their business processes The majority of online workers are relatively and systems. Developers can leverage this service highly skilled with university degrees and about to build human intelligence directly into their ap- 20–35 years of age. Some aggregators, such plications. Examples of such tasks include photo as Samasource and CloudFactory target low- recognition and audio transcription. er-skilled communities and provide sufficient Studies found that 47 percent of AMT workers training and facilities for workers to participate. live in the United States, 34 percent in India, Some MobileWorks workers are semi-educated and 20 percent in other countries. Workers’ ob- homemakers. Various aggregators target different jectives for participation differ, however; AMT types of work and it is possible for microworkers microworkers from India are more likely to per- to transition from low-skilled work to higher-end form microwork as a primary source of income as skilled work and thereby earn more. 29 connectingtowork 4.2.3 Challenges 4.3.1 Connecting women to work Key disadvantages of online work are that these ICTs have shown potential in connecting more jobs do not bring job security, and may lead to vol- women to work, and could improve access for atile, even low incomes. Critiques of microwork, people with disabilities to work as well. ICT could especially, propose that the work may be routine, thus help in overcoming at least part of the social trivial, or with little scope for skills development. and logistical barriers that often prevent these Some of the platforms are addressing these communities from participating in labor markets. challenges by incorporating training, building Many countries have significant numbers of up communities of workers, and incorporating women who are unable to participate in the labor feedback mechanisms to reward workers. force due to a mix of social or cultural reasons, Another concern for online work is that many constraining the availability of labor. In some workers may not be able to participate due to their countries women might also have unequal ac- lack of global language skills. Much of the Internet cess to education and then to job opportunities. and international business uses English, for ex- Worldwide, labor participation is only 51 percent ample. Online workers with poor skills in English of females (aged 15 years and above), compared or other global languages might face difficulty in with an overall rate of 64 percent.94 accessing these opportunities, and in competing This discrepancy matters because increasing the with other language-equipped workers. participation of women in labor markets would These services also face some challenges. Skills empower women through the income earned and may be mismatched, especially given the lack of social status attained. It could also increase the standardized job descriptions and competency supply of skilled labor; the enrollment of females qualifications. Some employers also face chal- in tertiary education worldwide is on a par with lenges in quality control due to the difficulty in the total (see Figure 3). Improving access to good managing remote teams for complex tasks. jobs and decent work for women has significant social spillovers.95 4.3 Making labor markets more inclusive Figure 3. Labor participation and tertiary school enrollment96 ICTs are also helping make labor markets more inclusive by opening up employment opportuni- 75 ties for people who might have been traditionally unable to access work due to geographic, physical, 50 or social barriers. In this section, we will focus 25 on how ICT has been playing a role in including more people in labor markets, with a focus on 0 Female Total Female Total women, people with disabilities, and workers at (% of female (% of total (% gross) (% gross) the BOP. population population ages 15+) ages 15+) Labor Participation Rate School Enrollment, Tertiary 30 connectingtowork/ict_empowers_workers A survey of women in technology by Elance connect to work using ICT. Unfortunately, one found that a large share of online workers who of the main barriers to realizing this potential is are women see online work as a way to earn an the limited access women have to ICT. This is true income while spending more time with family. in higher-income countries as well as in poorer At the same time, about a third of respondents countries.102 It is thus essential for efforts to over- felt that one of the reasons fewer women entered come the digital divide to include and address technology-related careers was because there were gender divides in access to ICT. fewer local opportunities—something that online work could help address.97 At the same time, on 4.3.2 Connecting people with disabilities oDesk, for example, 39 percent of workers are to work female, which is higher than the global average ICTs are also transformational in including of women in white collar/computer-based jobs.* people with disabilities in the labor market. Simple This potential is underscored by available technologies that have become commonplace— data, even if the results are location-specific. For video conferencing, voice recognition and text- instance, 41 percent of workers on Elance are to-speech conversion, and telework—can allow female, whereas AMT has more female workers people with disabilities to access education and in the US. The concept of “homeshoring�, where training opportunities, and then find and do work.  people work for a virtual organization or call-cen- The flexibility that ICT enables in terms of the ter from their homes, also opens up opportunities location of work, the variety of interfaces, and for women who might choose to stay at home means of interaction all allow people with differ- rather than work in a traditional job.98 jetBlue, a ent physical, cognitive, and sensory disabilities U.S. based airline, has a virtual call center of more to participate in mainstream work,  including than a thousand workers, many of whom are work that might be virtual. Hence, even though women, connecting to the airline’s systems over ICTs alone will not address all of the barriers to the Internet using home computers.99 The BPO employment for people with disabilities, they can industry has also benefited women. According help open new possibilities. to a 2010 survey in the Philippines, women ICT also opens the possibility of disjoining constituted more than half (54.9 percent) of the labor from location, and with the virtualization industry’s total workforce.100 of work, people with disabilities who might not In Saudi Arabia, Glowork has also used ICT to be able to otherwise access work due to logistical match women with employers, reducing search challenges may be able to work online. Some ex- costs and addressing cultural concerns. Glowork amples already exist. Box D discusses the concept operates an online platform that connects work- of impact sourcing, and organizations such as ers and employers, and then serves as means to Digital Divide Data, in Cambodia, have included enable employees’ working from their homes. As people with disabilities in their programs.103 of 2012, Glowork has successfully placed about However, challenges remain. People with 6,000 women.101 disabilities are often less likely to have access to Over time, more women might find and education and training programs that would * Information provided by oDesk. make them competitive in labor markets. 31 connectingtowork Box D. Impact sourcing: Combining global outsourcing with social impact As the outsourcing business has grown globally, a mix of companies and intermedi- aries are beginning to consider if social impacts might be multiplied. The outcome is impact sourcing, which as Accenture, a consultancy defines it, is “outsourcing that benefits disadvantaged individuals in low employment areas.� Accenture finds that im- pact sourcing helps increase employees’ incomes between 40 percent and 200 percent. Estimates suggest that impact sourcing could account for about a tenth of the global BPO market. Many examples of ongoing impact sourcing exist. One example is Digital Data Divide (DDD), which aims to create jobs for young people in emerging economies. DDD workers check data integrity, analyze and digitize databases, documents, publications and archives. Workers include people who are poor, who have disabilities, or are oth- erwise excluded from employment. DDD recruits and trains employees, supporting further education, even as they work in the outsourcing industry in centers in Kenya, Cambodia, and Lao PDR. In some cases, workers who “graduate� from DDD earn more than four times the average wage. Impact sourcing thus combines the global nature of the outsourcing industry with the advantages that ICT offers to overcome exclusion. Source: Authors, based on Gib Bulloch and Jessica Long, Exploring the Value Proposition for Impact Sourcing: The Buyer’s Perspective, Accenture, 2012: http://www.accenture.com/us-en/Pages/insight-exploring-value-proposition- impact-sourcing.aspx; The Rockefeller Foundation, Impact Sourcing: An Emerging Path to Sustainable Job Creation? December 2011: http://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/uploads/files/509cc19c-f15f-4a62-8b9f-45d342d95bb6-isc-report. pdf; Digital Divide Data: http://www.digitaldividedata.org/services/ 32 connectingtowork/ict_empowers_workers “Workers at the BOP are also often self- employed, and ICTs support them in getting real-time information on the availability of work, and enabling better access to financial services, information, and markets.� 33 connectingtowork And  oftentimes, they continue to face a digital on communities at the BOP. Somali refugees in divide when ICT services might not be accessible Kenya, for example, were able to do microwork af- as well. For example, websites designed poorly to ter Samasource provided them with the sufficient include many images without text descriptions training and access to facilities, even though these will be difficult to navigate for a person with refugees had barely used computers before.105 visual impairments. The U.N. Convention on the Workers at the BOP are also often self-em- Rights of Persons with Disabilities explicitly in- ployed, and ICTs support them in getting re- cludes the elimination of “obstacles and barriers� al-time information on the availability of work, to accessible ICT, 104 yet more needs to be done to and enabling better access to financial services, ensure accessibility to information, services, and information, and markets. Surveys of mobile to employment opportunities.  use at the base of the pyramid from Kenya lead to some interesting findings about the use of 4.3.3 Increasing access for workers at the mobile phones for work at the BOP.106 A quarter BOP of survey respondents stated that they had earned This section looks in more detail at the relation- money using their mobile phone. Of those who ship between ICT and livelihoods at the so-called had earned money through their mobile phone, “base of the pyramid (BOP),� among individuals the majority did so directly, by getting more work living on less than US$2.50 per day. With access because they were more “reachable.� The most to ICT increasing, even among people at the commonly reported moneymaking activities were BOP, the various Internet and especially mobile casual job offers (such as tilling a field or washing telephone-based job searching and employment a car), reported by 35 percent of respondents, services hold significant potential to connect or opportunities to sell products or services (48 more people even of meager ICT means to work. percent). Mobile money services are common, Given that it could be performed by low-skilled even among BOP users, and some 6 percent of workers, microwork is often seen as a way to help respondents reported using M-Pesa, the most provide income generation opportunities across popular mobile money service, for work. Almost urban and rural markets and to people who might half of the respondents who reported using their not be considered for knowledge economy jobs. mobile phones for employment earned less than In some cases, microwork outfits even focus KES 500 (US$6) from the transaction. 34 connectingtowork/challenges_and_risk 5 . Challenges and risks As described earlier, ICT’s increasing role in em- leading them to produce more with fewer people. ployment is not without challenges and risks. The These changes do not affect everyone equally, most widely discussed challenge arising from the however. In the developed world, technology is increasing use of ICT relates to the potential job leading mid-skill workers to lose their jobs due losses due to the productivity gains in businesses. to increasing labor productivity or the dislocation But there are many other challenges that arise of work to where wages are lower.107 On the other from the increasing role of ICT in employment, hand, research has found that the number of including the separation of work from social safety lower-skill service jobs in the U.S., for example, nets, the dislocation of work, concerns about the have grown even as other lower- or middle-skill balance between the quantity and quality of work, jobs that could be automated or transferred to divergences in experience and skills, and the risk lower-cost locations, in manufacturing or office of older divides continuing. Initial analysis has services for example, have disappeared.108 And exposed these challenges; others may emerge as high-skilled jobs or those needing interaction transformations continue and deepen. and complex problem-solving may continue to These are all complex challenges, and it is out grow.109 of the scope of this policy note to address each in Another concern, potentially more disruptive detail. Rather, their mention here is meant to spur to countries’ political economies is the decoupling a debate and discussion about how best these in time or space that occurs between job creation challenges and risks might be addressed in the and job losses in the short-term. Decoupling in future, especially given that the transformation time refers to how the introduction of ICT might of the nature of work and of the job is bound to lead to job losses in the short term, and that the change due to technological advances, apart from creation of new jobs due to the economic expan- other factors. In this, due consideration must be sion effects may happen much later. A second de- given to those who are at risk of losing out due coupling effect is in space. Simply put, jobs lost in to these changes, as much as those who might be one location may be created elsewhere. One could able to adapt and exploit these opportunities. easily compare the losses in manufacturing jobs in the U.S., with those losses concentrated in the 5.1 Job losses and decoupling Midwestern states, with ICT-related jobs created in the Bay Area, where the technology industry As indicated above, one of the most debated is concentrated.* Indeed, such outsourcing could effects of the increased role of ICT in the world help address the geographic mismatches between of work is that some jobs are lost while others are created. Part of this is due to the higher labor * For an animation showing the shifting nature of job losses and gains, see Geography of Jobs. Tip Strategies, Inc. http:// productivity that ICTs might enable within firms, tipstrategies.com/geography-of-jobs/ (June 10, 2013). 35 connectingtowork jobs and workers. Put another way, “workers with might enable. There is a vigorous debate about the desired skills may be in short supply where com- short-term versus long-term employment impact panies are hiring, while places with the highest of ICT, among other technologies.111 unemployment may have little job creation. This The relationship between ICT and job creation geographic imbalance is occurring both across and losses is complex and is subject to much national borders and within them.�† debate.112 For example, a recent example provided However, policy-makers are often worried, in the U.S. was the apparent reduction in the especially about the displacement of jobs across number of bank tellers as ATMs have become borders, made especially possible with the in- more popular. However, data suggest that both creasing use of ICTs that allow real time interac- the number of bank tellers and ATMs in the U.S. tions across continents. Such displacement could have increased.113 Yet, the politics of job losses at pose significant challenges to policymakers even a time of economic crisis, especially in the devel- if the long-term net effect of the introduction of oped world, poses a challenge to policymakers ICT on employment is positive. looking to expand the role of ICT in their econo- A third concern is that job gains and losses mies. Given that technological change is difficult might correlate with demographic factors such as to prevent or delay, policymakers will thus need age and education, often putting pressure on the to consider how best they might respond to these socially vulnerable. The inclusion of ICT in the challenges by preparing a future-ready workforce workplace and as a medium to find and do work and ensure growth through these upheavals. also poses challenges to older workers or those who are not “digitally literate� apart from the risk 5.2 Separation of work from of job losses due to productivity improvements.110 social safety nets This implies that job losses might befall those who are most reliant on their employment. Even as new forms of work may expand labor At the same time, some companies also offer markets and make them more inclusive, they may virtual work options to people of retirement age not embed in them the social safety nets tradi- who have valuable skills that they wish to retain, tionally associated with good jobs. For example, or to retirees looking to supplement their incomes online contractors may not have access to health with flexible work. One large financial services insurance or pension schemes offered to full-time firm hires retirees from all sorts of professions to employees in traditional jobs. They might also answer customer service calls from their homes not have the opportunity to organize for their for several hours a day. The results have been rights or to negotiate for pay. good enough that the company intends to expand This is a concern that focuses on developed the program.‡ countries, where social safety nets have been in These job losses typically occur because of place for many years. Arguably, working online productivity improvements due to automation, may allow the unemployed—in developing or or process improvements, for example, that ICT developed countries—to gain an income that could permit them access to such social services. † Inputs provided by McKinsey Global Institute. ‡ Input provided by McKinsey Global Institute. Indeed, for developing countries such as India, 36 connectingtowork/challenges_and_risk Some employment platforms are considering safeguards such as fair wage guidance, or are setting up health insurance schemes. where formal employment accounts only for 5.3 Quantity versus quality about 10 percent of the total, or in El Salvador, of jobs where it is 69 percent, few social safety nets may hold workers back from exploiting new income One concern with ICT work is that these jobs opportunities.114 might in some cases put quantity over quality. In However, online workers should be aware of some cases, the career growth path is unclear. In the rights they might miss, and have access to other cases, the nature of the work is unskilled, or at least some social services even if they are not may be deskilling. For some, virtual work due to employed in traditional jobs. To address this its odd hours and repetitive nature lends to the concern, some employment platforms are consid- description of “virtual sweat shops.�117 This could ering safeguards such as fair wage guidance,115 or exacerbate the problem seen in many young are setting up health insurance schemes.116 While people, who are “trapped in low-productivity, not directly related to social safety, some of the temporary or other types of work that fall short online employment platforms also include in- of their aspirations and that often do not open formation for workers on strategies to maximize opportunities to move to more permanent, high- their work and earnings.* er-productivity, and better-paid positions.�118 Governments will need to consider how social Some crowd-sourcing and microwork firms safety nets might extend to include online work- have faced this criticism in the past, and have been ers, balancing the flexibility that underpins much criticized for involving their workers in small of online work with the need to provide some scale and repetitive work that have few long-term basic protections for these workers. benefits and are typically linked to low wages.119 Certainly, adding to the numbers of workers is * For example, Elance provides weekly free webinars and an online resource center that offers content on how to be less meaningful if viewed in this context.120 successful on that platform. The courses include “howhowHow A parallel issue is that workers might also view to succeedsucceedSucceed on Elance,� an hour-long free course, jobs skills training, 45-90 minutes per class which costs these jobs poorly, as low quality or low value out- $25 per month for unlimited courses, and job skills testing sourcing. In some cases, cultural norms may re- for 10-20 minutes for free. Elance also publishes data on jobs available and rates that can be achieved to help workers gard a temporary or online job poorly compared earn more money. Elance partners with online training organization to conduct such skills training. with a traditional full-time job. This might put 37 connectingtowork off workers from seeking to participate in these 5.4 The dislocation of work opportunities. The temporary nature of much of online work ICTs allow workers to be located anywhere, may also be a concern given that the ultimate goal at least theoretically. While this allows firms to is to support full time employment. Concerns are access a global talent pool, it also means that the that online work might institutionalize the tem- increase in the number of firms or in economic porary nature of contract work, expose workers to activity in one location does not translate to the volatility in earnings, and serve as a workaround increase in employment in that location. For to labor regulations, for example. Indeed, part- example, the growth of the IT industry in the U.S. time and temporary employment has increased might not anymore lead to an increase in labor across developed countries, and is set to increase demanded within the U.S., but to a growing de- as firms seek to manage labor costs.† mand for programmers who could work remotely While these concerns are valid, an alternative from other countries. viewpoint is that oftentimes, the workers have And workers do not need to be part of the firm few alternative sources of income and hence itself. An increasing amount of work might be could benefit from such employment even if it achieved through networks of temporary online is in the short term. In some cases, especially for workers that in some cases have become long- highly skilled workers or “hyperspecialists,� this term yet contingent workers for companies. This flexibility might increase their ability to diversify could affect the number of staff needed to start sources of income. up SMEs. And indeed, a report by the Kauffman There is no universal solution to these prob- Foundation finds that the size of startup SMEs lems. The formal rights and responsibilities of has been reducing, partly due to the greater use workers and employers vary significantly across of temporary or outsourced employees,121 both jurisdictions. Informal assignment of values for trends that ICT-enabled employment could en- different types of jobs or work varies for each able or even accelerate. culture and social system. However, it is essen- Yet, alongside the concerns with online con- tial for any consideration of ICT-enabled work tracting, as with outsourcing, some evidence to balance the quantity of jobs created with the is appearing to show that firms that would quality of those jobs, and to avoid a focus only on otherwise not hire and hence grow are doing so the number of workers or jobs at the expense of because of their access to global talent pools. In creating the systems and opportunities for work- one survey oDesk found that “three-quarters of ers to find and do good jobs. businesses say it would have been difficult to hire a local, on-premise worker to fill the need for which they hired their online worker.� Moreover, “83 percent of businesses indicated that they would not have hired locally if online workers were unavailable.�122 † Inputs from McKinsey Global Institute. 38 connectingtowork/challenges_and_risk 39 connectingtowork 5.5 The risks of exclusion due correspondence with employers is predominantly to access divides English, Chinese, and Spanish, which together account for almost 60 percent of the Internet in Even as ICT jobs could help employ more terms of users.124 For workers who might not be people and create new income generating oppor- familiar with these languages, the pool of employ- tunities in the developing world, there are risks ers to work with reduces significantly. This is also that older divides might hold countries or regions relevant for ICT sector jobs, where ICT specialists back from connecting to work. are often found to be lacking in communication Three such divides that could create entry skills, and where ITES/BPO jobs often demand a barriers for workers are the digital divide, the high level of language skill. language divide, and an “access� divide, referring Finally, the access divide might also prevent to the ability of individuals to find and do work labor mobility, restrict workers from working for with the least regulatory burdens. foreign-based employers, or place higher tax bur- The digital divide arises from the variations in dens on foreign-earned incomes. Some countries access to ICT across geographies. For example, have very strict travel-exit procedures in place, while 27 percent of the population in middle-in- limiting the global work that otherwise qualified come countries use the Internet, in low-income individuals could do. countries, the use drops to 6 percent (in 2011).123 These divides, which come into focus due to the This is not only due to variations in infrastructure globalized, technology-dependent nature of ICT deployment, but also to price. jobs, are thus important for stakeholders in the A language divide might also hamper workers’ public and private sectors (as well as in academic online efforts. While skills in computer pro- or training programs) to consider to ensure that gramming or graphic design might be global, their presence does not perpetuate inequalities of the languages in use on the Internet, and in the past. 40 connectingtowork/enablers_for_impact 6 . Enablers for impact What could governments do to create more em- that creates employment opportunities and in- ployment opportunities and enable people to find creases labor market flexibility while balancing ICT industry jobs and ICT-enabled work? This with the rights of workers. section focuses on this question, proposing an initial framework to consider various policies and The following discusses each of these enabling programs to prepare governments for these chang- systems and emerging best practices to help es and maximize employment opportunities. activate each of these systems. In closing, we Our initial research and consultation suggests discuss the possibility of mapping these enabling that the following five enabling systems would systems to the specific ICT-enabled employment support an increase in the number of jobs, would opportunities available in different economies. prepare workers to access ICT industry jobs and However, given the limitations of scope at this ICT-enabled work, and would help mitigate some stage of analysis, this policy note only provides of the risks and challenges discussed in this note: a summary and overview of these systems. Subsequent analytical efforts will expand on the • Human capital systems: Ensuring that the material included here. labor pool has appropriate ICT skills, and has the awareness and the soft skills required to 6.1 Human capital systems participate in the labor market; • Infrastructure systems: Ubiquitous connec- Human capital systems ensure a supply of tivity to ICT, access to reliable and affordable appropriately skilled workers, innovators, and en- electricity and to safe transportation systems, trepreneurs. The ICT skills imparted to students infrastructure to support innovation, and and to workers need to address the constantly SMEs’ adoption of technology; evolving needs of industry. They also need to • Social systems: Networks of trust and recog- cover the range of employment opportunities— nition for workers and employers to evaluate from basic ICT skills (digital literacy) for most and reward each other’s competencies and people to advanced high technology skills for ICT performance; social safety nets and a focus on job seekers—and create the cadre of individuals quality to minimize the negative outcomes of who have skills to be innovative, creative, and ICT-enabled employment; entrepreneurial. • Financial systems: Efficient and accountable Human capital systems are important because systems to ensure timely payments; and access many countries simultaneously have the prob- to finance to support innovation and entrepre- lems of high unemployment and a lack of skilled neurship; and workers. The challenge or even crisis in creating • Regulatory systems: An enabling environment good jobs gets compounded by significant skills 41 connectingtowork gaps that often leave many positions unfilled. A education and employable skills and competen- survey by the McKinsey Global Institute found cies.* Such bridging programs typically include that in 2011, a quarter of surveyed employers in the technical skills that employers seek, and the Europe had reported difficulty “filling jobs for “soft� skills that help workers become more cre- lack of qualified talent, particularly technicians ative and better communicators, managers, and and engineers.�125 And IT consultancy Gartner team-members. estimates that by 2015, big data could create three There is no one reason why formal education million more jobs than there will be skilled pro- systems do not succeed in developing the needed fessionals.126 These concerns extend to developing ICT skills. Depending on the country, reasons countries as well. India’s NASSCOM projected include delays in updating curricula, lack of that the country will face a shortfall of half a mil- teachers who have the needed qualifications, lion skilled workers in 2010.127 In the absence of and limited infrastructure to support excellence appropriate skills, alongside unemployment, one in education. Some countries’ education systems might find unfilled jobs. might also not put in place the incentives or Moreover, education and training programs training for educators to use IT resources that need to evolve and adapt to prepare young people may be available, limiting efforts to develop digi- with employable skills, and prepare older workers tal literacy, for example. to embrace technological change. Children who The most effective programs to bridge edu- start school in 2013 will graduate from college in cation to employment focus on developing ICT about 2030 and will be seeking work in a future skills aligned with industry requirements. They that we can barely predict (consider that the first often use innovative models connecting the pub- iPhone was sold only in 2007). Similarly, older lic sector, private sector, and academia to identify workers, and especially those who are at risk of los- skills demanded locally and globally, the gaps ing their jobs due to technological changes, would based on that demand, and interventions to boost need the training and support to learn new skills.128 university curricula or train existing workers. Countries will thus need human capital sys- Those skills include technology- or industry-spe- tems that address these challenges. This would cific skills, but could also include broader skills, call for adaptable ICT skills development pro- e.g. management, communication, language, grams that connect education to employment, critical thinking, and creative skills. raising awareness about new job searching tools One notable program is EDUEgypt, being im- and ICT-enabled employment opportunities, and plemented by the ministries for higher education using ICT to support training and education. and for ICT, in close partnership with leading These systems will also need to impart the skills IT-ITES companies, to enhance the employability to help make students and workers more creative of Egyptian graduates and prepare them for the and entrepreneurial. local and global market. Since its start in 2008, Skills development. Perhaps the most im- portant set of interventions relate to skills devel- * For a detailed examination of some programs that bridge the gap between education and employment, see McKinsey opment. There are many programs worldwide Center for Government. Education to Employment: Designing a System that Works. (New York: McKinsey & focusing on bridging the gaps between formal Company, Inc., January 2013): 42 connectingtowork/enablers_for_impact EDUEgypt has been expanded to 10 universities A large-scale approach to align skills with in- and has served over 10,000 students.129 dustry requirements is also being implemented in Even in countries with dynamic ICT sectors, Mexico. MexicoFirst was established as part of a skills development remains a priority. In the World Bank funded project aimed at the develop- Philippines, for example, the Government is ment of the IT industry in Mexico. MexicoFirst planning to set up a virtual university for business designs training programs for the IT industry and process outsourcing to train an additional 10,000 also negotiates with leading industry certifica- students and support the growth of the ITES sec- tions in order to provide these at more affordable tor.130 India, another leading ITES destination, is rates. As of today, MexicoFirst has helped Mexico also embarking on a national program that aims to issue more than 30,000 high level certifications. 133 improve the skills of 500 million people by 2022. In some cases, specific companies have been The National Skill Development Corporation investing in skills development programs aiming of India aims to do so in partnership with the to build both broader competencies and specific private sector. Set up in 2009, the program covers skills in the systems they have developed. Cisco, 21 sectors, including IT, software, ITES-BPO, and a networking technology company, has a world- electronics hardware. It seeks to define and apply wide network of Cisco Networking Academies. global standards for skills development in part- These academies have trained over four million nership with industry, developing frameworks for students since 1997 to secure industry certifica- curriculum and quality assurance, and funding tions and to improve technology and business skills training programs.131 skills.134 In 2013, SAP, a major enterprise software The World Bank has also been supporting provider, set up a “Skills for Africa� program to countries in Sub-Sahara Africa since 2008 in impart global IT and business skills that would building skills for the knowledge economy also support their ecosystem of products and among their citizens. The focus has been to services.135 promote “globally benchmarked, employable Recognizing the global nature of ICT-enabled skills for the Information Technology (IT) and employment, an important part of some programs IT Enabled Services (ITES) industry.� As a part is language training. In Bogota, for example, a of the program, ACCESS Nigeria is being imple- program called “Talk to the World� focuses on mented to build globally-benchmarked skills for building the skills of poorer, working age people IT-BPO, and links certified candidates to jobs focusing on English training and certification. through an industry-endorsed program. The first Since 2008, over 12,000 people have been certi- phase, completed in 2011, successfully assessed fied as part of this program.136 3,400 students and trained over 1,500 students. Finally, in order to effectively train ICT skilled In Kenya, a Software Developer’s Certification workers and match them with ICT-related jobs, (SDC) Program, branded “Chipuka,� is being a common definition of ICT skills competencies implemented by the Kenya ICT Board in partner- is required. The absence of such definitions lim- ship with Carnegie Mellon University, with the its the ability of jobs matching services to truly aim to train and certify software developers and connect workers with employers where the skills boost practical skills for employment.132 match the needed profile of work. 43 connectingtowork The EU has developed an e-competence frame- local private sector, and focus on IT and business work to address this challenge. The framework in- skills that are in demand in that economy.* For cludes “36 ICT competences that can be used and example, companies such as Coursera make free understood by ICT user and supply companies, coursework from over 60 universities available the public sector, educational and social partners online. Over one million students sign up on that across Europe.�137 This enables better talent man- platform every month.139 Some programs teach agement and development, job description, and specific skills, such as programming, online— skills identification for employers, workers, and sometimes free and sometimes for a fee.140 trainers.138 For now, many of these resources depend on Raising awareness. Information about new broadband Internet connectivity, which is limited avenues for employment often spreads by word- in some cases. Workarounds are possible; SAP’s of-mouth. As governments and businesses seek to Skills for Africa program recognizes the limits drive employment and attract qualified workers, to Internet availability and gives students their coordinating efforts to raise awareness about new courseware on a USB “dongle.� But the idea that employment opportunities could have a positive ICT could support the education and training effect. It will be critical, however, to communicate agenda is key, and one that could enable rapid, both the opportunities and risks inherent in new large scale delivery of employment-relevant edu- forms of ICT-enabled work, for example. cation and training.141 Awareness building can have significant posi- tive impacts. The World Bank has been working 6.2 Infrastructure systems with the Government of Nigeria to take advan- tage of virtualized job opportunities by leveraging Whether one is working in the ICT sector or various microwork and online contracting plat- using ICT to connect to work, both the worker forms. The government launched an awareness and employer need to have access to affordable, building campaign about these opportunities that quality infrastructure systems. With ICT as a led to increased registrations (up by 40 percent- focus, either as a job function or a tool for work- age points) and hiring (up 26 percentage points), ers, access to high-speed telecommunications and then leading to increased earnings (up 13 connectivity—broadband networks—is essential. percentage points). These networks go beyond connecting people to Using ICT for education. Even as ICT poses a work; they are the foundation for the knowledge challenge to workers to maintain their skills, ICTs economy, connecting workers to global knowl- could also support skills development, training, edge and commercial networks. and education. Growing from efforts to enable Yet access to broadband is not enough. Costs distance learning, recent developments that of doing business escalate if workers, businesses, have spurred much interest are online learning * A MOOC is an online course, usually at the university platforms and massive online open courses level, offered for free over the Internet, which aims for large- (MOOCs). MOOCs are now part of a pilot in scale (some courses have enrolled over 100,000 students at a time “open� (anyone can join) participation over the Internet. Tanzania, sponsored by the World Bank, where Michael Trucano, “Moocs in Africa.� EduTech, April 12, 2013: http://blogs.worldbank.org/edutech/moocs-in-africa course curricula are aligned with the needs of the (June 10, 2013). 44 connectingtowork/enablers_for_impact and even Internet service providers do not have need attention to at least three aspects: access to affordable and reliable electricity sup- plies. And although ICT work might be virtual • Availability: This will need countries to ensure it nevertheless relies on the movement of people that they have sufficient international con- and goods. Hence, access to transportation also nectivity and widespread local networks so supports this agenda. that businesses and individuals can connect This brings up an interesting and under-studied to global information resources and markets. aspect of ICT based work: that there are very real Even as mobile Internet services will help ex- implications of the virtual world. Concerns are tend coverage, countries will need to support mounting in some quarters about the increasing the expansion of fixed broadband networks consumption of electricity by the ICT sector, for that truly allow reliable, high quality connec- example. tivity for IT businesses. Other enabling infrastructures support inno- • Affordability: Broadband services will also need vation, for example, programs to fund research to become more affordable so that more people & development in the ICT sector, or creation of can connect and access the global employment IT parks, both in their traditional physical form opportunities, and so that more businesses and in newer virtual forms. And SMEs will need are able to participate in global economic support to exploit improving infrastructure processes. access and adopt ICTs as they grow to increase • Attractiveness: In many cases, broadband ser- productivity and access global markets. vices are undersubscribed because potential us- We investigate these aspects here, identifying ers do not see specific benefits in connecting.142 some opportunities for stakeholders to consider Awareness about income earning possibilities when developing these enabling infrastructure online could help spur broadband adoption. systems in the context of ICT and employment. Ubiquitous connectivity. Fundamentally, ICT- Broadband networks also support innovations enabled employment is driven by connectivity. that influence employment. Cloud computing, Broadband networks, especially, have been iden- collaborative design platforms, or 3D printing, tified by many stakeholders as critical enablers of for example, need broadband networks to func- online employment. tion. And access to the Internet will help more Governments will need to consider a range of businesses startup; one estimate suggests that im- programs and policies to ensure that broadband proving Internet access in the developing world networks—wireless and wired—will be ubiqui- could support over 143,000 startups annually.143 tous, of high quality, and affordable. The reader is Countries will derive varying benefits from ICT directed to a range of resources on that topic.* To work because they have varying levels of broad- summarize, improving access to broadband will band market development. For countries that are looking for ways to expand employment oppor- * The reader may refer to the following resources: ICT tunities, placing an emphasis on the expansion of Regulation Toolkit (http://www.ictregulationtoolkit.org/en/home), Broadband Strategies Toolkit (http://broadbandtoolkit.org/en/ broadband networks will be a necessary step. home), and the World Bank’s Information & Communications for Development series (http://go.worldbank.org/0J2CTQTYP0). Reliable and affordable electricity. An often 45 connectingtowork overlooked but essential infrastructure for the Transportation services are also often overlooked, functioning of the knowledge economy is electric- given the presumed virtual nature of ICT-enabled ity. Widespread access to reliable, safe, and afford- employment. However, many workers whether able electricity supply is a key enabler for online in the ICT sector, or in the informal sectors but employment, supporting the knowledge economy. using services such as babajob, rely on safe and As battery technology has improved, it may be efficient transportation services to ferry them possible for some workers to operate “off-grid� from their homes to workplaces. Indeed, worker and with increased mobility for extended dura- safety during travel has been a long-standing tions. However, long-term and sustainable activ- concern for many call centers in India, which ities in the knowledge economy would require often organize their own bus services to carry access to high quality electricity services. In cases workers (especially women) from their homes to where electricity is not guaranteed, the impact the workplace and back.‡ on ICT workers can be significant. For example, Transportation systems are also essential for India suffered its worst blackout in July 2012, the movement of goods, including ICT hard- leaving over 600 million people without electric- ware and devices, and products of ICT-enabled ity.144 This had a negative impact on perceptions workers, SMEs, or companies that are engaged of business climate and had immediate impact on in non-digital production, e.g., agriculture and the operation of many ICT workers.† manufacturing. There is another important aspect of how Innovation infrastructure. Innovation drives electricity intersects with online work. Much of economic growth. There are significant opportu- the online work today is done over networks and nities in store for countries that have innovative cloud computing platforms. These networks and workers. Innovations in the ICT sector drive clouds consume significant amounts of electricity. employment both directly—as new firms are Estimates suggest that data centers already con- created to exploit and commercialize those in- sume about 2 percent of the electricity produced novations—and indirectly, through the benefits in the U.S., for example,145 and additional energy of ICT innovations to other sectors (e.g., cloud consumption is due to the telecommunications computing, mobile applications). access technologies that connect workers to the Countries looking to support the development cloud.146 Certainly, as IT becomes more energy ef- of their innovation ecosystems will need a com- ficient, this impact may reduce. But it will remain bination of factors to be in place. For one, there important to ensure that the growing virtualiza- needs to be coordination across the public and tion of work does not have negative unaccounted private sectors and with academia, creating an consequences for the environment. ecosystem to incubate innovation.147 Funding for Safe and efficient transportation services. research & development activities that promotes ‡ Although there have been cases of such services failing to † For example, oDesk workers in India logged in less time provide the needed level of safety. See, for example, Reena during this blackout, most likely due to their inability to use Patel, Working the Night Shift: Women’s Employment in their computers or Internet connections. See Odesk. The the Transnational Call Center Industry. (Austin, Tx: The Blackouts in India, Seen in Odesk Data. by John Horton. University of Texas at Austin, May 2008): http://repositories. (August 6, 2012): https://www.odesk.com/blog/2012/08/the- lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/3941/pateld76136. blackouts-in-india-and-odesk-impact/ (June 10, 2013). pdf?sequence=2 (June 10, 2013). 46 connectingtowork/enablers_for_impact such coordination is often lacking, but can have Centres (SIRCs) in Singapore provide advisory great impact when managed transparently and ef- and pre-project consultancy services, as well ficiently. The policy environment to enable inno- as IT clinics and workshops for SMEs. Another vation will also need attention, ensuring that they example includes a program launched in 2012 empower innovators, create a favorable business by the ASEAN Foundation in partnership with climate, foster partnerships, enable knowledge Microsoft that provides ICT training programs creation and flows, and have robust institutional for young entrepreneurs and SMEs, with focus on support.148 the latest ICT applications. The project is expect- Infrastructures that support innovation also ed to reach close to 1,000 SMEs from Indonesia, play an important role. Most common are IT Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. parks, which host ICT companies and link them There is a risk that some SMEs might outsource with other tenants and intellectual and financial work online to an extent that net job creation in resources. Earlier models for such parks were a local economy might be limited. However, physical (with buildings), and their success was the likelihood of this being a dominating effect determined by a range of factors of which critical seems small for now, especially given that SMEs ones were: the ability to manage their operations will continue to participate in sectors such as effectively, which is typically achieved through agriculture and manufacturing where online out- private sector leadership (often supported by sourcing is less likely than in the service sector. PPPs); creation of links with partners including Moreover, SMEs could grow faster due to the academic institutions, R&D centers, and finan- increased connectivity and competitiveness from ciers; provision of world-class infrastructure; and ICT use, and hence hire more workers. availability of qualified talent.149 Newer arrange- ments have appeared that leverage ICT access 6.3 Social systems to create virtual IT parks and enable lightweight models that plug local innovation ecosystems Working in the ICT space, even though digital into global networks.150 and virtual, often intersects with very real social SME adoption of technology. As infrastruc- concerns. We segment these concerns into two ture access grows, it could enable more SMEs to groups. The first relate to implications for work- use technology in strategic ways that enhance ers, in terms of their potential for job losses (at productivity and earnings and thus assist in job least for some groups of workers/job categories), creation. However, SMEs, particularly in devel- and to be of poorer quality compared with some oping countries, have been slow to adopt ICT due traditional forms of work. Stakeholders will need to various supply side constraints (e.g., lack of to consider these social implications and how ICT infrastructure, ICT products not tailored for they might address them through social safety SMEs) and demand side constraints (e.g., lack of nets and protections. skills, awareness, and finances). The second set of concerns has to do with trust To mitigate these challenges, many countries and recognition. Employers are keen to validate have developed schemes to help ICT adoption by their employees’ antecedents or verify skills and SMEs.151 For instance, the Infocomm Resource maximize reliability. At the same time, workers 47 connectingtowork seek recognition, and want to benefit from that And for workers in the ICT sector or who par- recognition in terms of improving work opportu- ticipate in ICT-enabled work, there is a need for nities, higher incomes, and social status. Hence, stakeholders to ensure that the work is of good ICT-enabled employment needs systems of trust quality, providing adequate incomes, offering and recognition to succeed. some basic social safety nets, ensuring positive Social safety nets. It is inevitable that some work environments where applicable, and giving workers will lose their jobs as ICT plays a greater them a chance to develop skills and progress in role in work. Some of these workers will be able their careers. to find new jobs if they are provided with training Trust and recognition. Among ICT employers, and support to make the transition. However, not such as software firms, one of the key consider- all workers will make the transition successfully, ations is having access to reliable staffers with ver- and there is a likelihood that workers who are ified credentials. One of the most common ways socially vulnerable (older workers, people with to ensure this is via widely used certification pro- disabilities, lower skilled workers) might be dis- grams. Major vendors such as Microsoft, Cisco, proportionately affected. and Oracle, for example, have long-standing and Hence, social safety nets will play a role in widely trusted certification programs through supporting and protecting these workers from which workers demonstrate their knowledge of negative outcomes. Throughout, however, the software, hardware, and networking technologies focus—as far as possible—must be on helping and systems. these workers make the transition from support At the same time, some systems are emerging to employment or even self-employment. to create skills registries that include information The design of these social safety nets will vary on ICT professionals to allow employers to val- with local circumstances. For example, one per- idate the educational and work backgrounds of spective gathered from our consultations on this their employees. For example, India’s NASSCOM, policy note was that social safety nets are more an IT industry association, has created a National relevant in the developed world, and more for Skills Registry, a “national database of registered manufacturing workers, whose jobs might be and verified knowledge workers in the industry.� displaced due to the introduction of technology The registry includes a permanent fact sheet on in their workplaces. the professional along with photographs, back- However, there are concerns about rising or ground check information, and even biometrics persistent unemployment in many countries to ensure unique identification.152 Governments and about the potential negative impact that the could also take a role, in partnership with private introduction or growing use of ICT could have sector firms and academic and training institu- on many workers in the developing or developed tions, to develop skills verification mechanisms world. Therefore, it will be critical for public and and standardized certification programs to in- private sector stakeholders to consider what so- crease trust of employers in ICT-enabled workers’ cial safety nets are most appropriate to minimize skill sets and competencies. the negative implications of ICT-induced job Online employment platforms have systems losses or displacement. of feedback provision through which employers 48 connectingtowork/enablers_for_impact are able to offer their ratings on performance For example, oDesk finds that major geographic and quality of work done. These ratings, which gaps in its contractor base occur where local are shared with other potential employers, often online payment systems are unavailable or very include specific feedback on the tasks complet- cumbersome.* ed. Workers can be sorted by average feedback Micropayment transfer support is essential for ratings, allowing strong performers to benefit microwork. These payment systems will need to from positive reviews. These workers can also transfer small amounts of money, sometimes in take tests to demonstrate their abilities in specific irregular patterns, to large numbers of workers. types of work or skills, for example, in languages Governments may need to enable international or in using specific computer software, which is and domestic micropayment services to give particularly relevant for first time workers who employers and workers access to efficient and have not yet established themselves. cost-effective payment transfer mechanisms with These mechanisms may not be regulated outside low transaction costs. of the platforms themselves, but they could borrow Key concerns include money laundering, and frameworks from external sources (such as the local rules and practices will need to ensure that e-competency frameworks) if those are available. payment systems adhere to global rules. However, this also means that setting up payment systems 6.4 Financial systems is highly complicated, with every jurisdiction having different interpretations and implementa- Financial systems are an integral part of the tions of global standards. ICT for jobs agenda for two reasons: they enable It might also be possible that payments for work payments to workers for work done, and because could use non-currency means, for example, access to finance is critical for SMEs. The chal- paying through an Amazon gift card in the case lenge is to have efficient payment systems in place of AMT, and airtime rewards for respondents that can ensure workers are paid quickly and with on Jana, a crowdsourcing survey platform.153 the least cost burden. At the same time, they need The concern here is the cost and risk associated to adhere to complex global and country-level with the conversion of non-monetary in-kind financial regulations. payments to cash. Consequently, countries might Second, much of the job creation and innova- be better off ensuring low cost and simplified tion in ICT and using ICT is done by SMEs, many payment systems. of whom face difficulties in accessing finance. Access to finance. Access to finance is one of This gap will need to be addressed, especially as the key constraints for SMEs and companies that it could help in increasing the adoption of ICTs are looking to launch or expand, and hence has by SMEs. an impact on job creation. According to the IFC, Efficient payment systems. Payment systems the likelihood of a small firm having access to that are global, and allow low cost and secure a bank loan in low-income countries is about a transactions, while ensuring compliance with third of what it is for a medium-sized firm, and international standards, are critical to the func- less than half of what it is for a larger firm.154 tioning of the online employment ecosystem. *Inputs from oDesk. 49 Countries that are less developed in telecommunications connectivity but have well developed financial systems, human capital systems, and can put in place enabling and balanced regulatory frameworks can also benefit from these opportunities. 50 connectingtowork/enablers_for_impact Evidence suggests that close to 45 to 55 percent supportive of new business creation, growth, and of the formal SMEs (11–17 million) in emerging even closure. markets do not have access to formal institutional Of special importance, given the growth and loans or overdrafts, despite a need for one. job creation potential of SMEs, there is a need The situation is more severe for ICT SMEs, as for countries to ensure an enabling environment they rarely have tangible assets to use as collateral for SMEs to flourish. These conditions include to secure loans, and because potential financiers adequate policy, legal, and regulatory frame- often lack the skills to evaluate ICT projects. works; favorable investment climate; finance Many countries have begun to set up financing mechanisms for SMEs and early stage startups; mechanisms to address these gaps and include and enabling infrastructure. measures such as to reduce interest burdens on While it is difficult to make general statements, SMEs or to share risks with financiers. For ex- there are a few possible actions that governments ample, Brazil’s Juro Zero program provides ICT could consider and evaluate. Policies and legal firms interest-free loans, while also providing a and regulatory frameworks play a critical role 50% guarantee on loans extended to small opera- in improving the SME landscape. Policies that tors within the framework.155 limit the flexibility of labor, finance, technology, or land markets can significantly hinder SME 6.5 Regulatory systems growth and impede the spread of new technology and innovations. Countries looking to enable innovation and Labor rules. The development of balanced growth in the ICT sector, or who seek a greater role labor regulation is necessary to protect workers, for innovative services to maximize ICT-enabled attract foreign job providers, and ensure flexi- employment, will need to consider restructuring bility in the labor market. Online work must not or rebalancing their regulatory systems to enable exploit the worker, yet, flexibility in obligations growth while providing workers and employers for part-time and subcontracted work online will with necessary protections. The reader is directed lead to more flexibility in business operations. to the various resources available online to iden- Rules about when workers can access benefits tify opportunities to maximize growth in the ICT need to be clear, but also need to respond to the sector as noted earlier. Here, the focus is on those changes in the nature of the employer-worker regulatory levers that could enable both employ- relationship. Extremely strict rules might limit ers and employees to maximize the benefits of the interest of some employers to enter certain ICT-enabled employment. markets, while at the same time, workers should An enabling business climate, especially for know their rights and have access to benefits if SMEs. At the core, governments will need to they are eligible. ensure that employers have the opportunity to On the other side, policymakers will also need operate and grow their businesses without un- to remove impediments to workers participating necessary impediments. To that end, countries’ in the global jobs market, and to people who seek business climates will need to be positive and self-employment via participation in online work. 51 connectingtowork For example, in Bangladesh, the government visas for investors/foreign staff could facilitate abolished the tax on income that was coming market development as well. Finally, adequate from work abroad done online. In other coun- intellectual property (IP) and data privacy pro- tries, people can only work for foreign parties if tections need to be in place (and be enforced) to they secure case-by-case permissions from labor allow employers to engage workers who access market regulators or foreign ministries, effective- confidential data and corporate IP, participate in ly converting the online contracting opportunity business processes, and other protected data or into a grey market activity. Self-employment information. should also not attract undue regulatory or tax burdens. The result may be the creation of a grey 6.6 Enabling systems and market for labor, as is seen anecdotally in many ICT-enabled employment Eastern European countries; software program- opportunities mers and designers often remain “under the radar� and informal, limiting the benefits that the We propose that the presence and status of creation of a vibrant community could bring to these systems of enablers will determine which the development of the ICT ecosystem. opportunities are available to and benefit which Other rules. Governments will also need rules countries, regions, and communities. This has that ease doing business. For example, cross-bor- a basis in some widely used indices that have der taxation should be simplified. Tariffs on im- already ranked various countries’ readiness to ports of hardware and software necessary to work attract ICT sector jobs, especially in IT services in the virtual economy should be reasonable. (Box E). The reduction of obstacles for visitors to obtain The scope of this policy note is limited and we Box E. Ranking a location’s ability to attract ICT jobs A number of organizations have defined methodologies to rank the ability of economies to attract ICT jobs. For example, A.T. Kearney, a consultancy, has a Global Services Location Index, which “ranks the top 50 countries worldwide as the best destinations for providing outsourcing activities, including IT services and support, contact centers and back-office support.� This index includes three measures to determine the ranking: financial attractiveness, people skills and availability, and business environment. IT consultancy Gartner has a 10-criteria evaluation scheme to evaluate leading locations for offshore services. The 10-criteria include “language, government support, labor pool, infrastructure, educational system, cost, political and eco- nomic environment, cultural compatibility, global and legal maturity, and data and continued 52 connectingtowork/enablers_for_impact intellectual property security and privacy.� The World Bank also has developed a �Location Readiness Index,“ noting that these various indices broadly agree on key factors that determine competitiveness of locations to attract and support IT services. These are: “availability of employable skills, competitive costs, quality of public infra- structure relevant to the IT services and ITES industries, and an overall environment that is conducive to business.� Some regional indices also exist. In 2010, for example, the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (FISI) developed an index to evaluate the European countries’ competitiveness for the software and IT services industry. In that index, the main factors include economic effects, innovation and R&D activities, level and quality of demand, framework conditions for the software industry, and general framework conditions. The World Economic Forum’s 2013 Global Information Technology Report also proposes a Digitization Index, developed by consultancy Booz & Company. In an im- portant finding, the Forum notes that the employment effects of increased digitization across countries and sectors are uneven. For example, advanced economies might create fewer jobs as their level of digitization increases, and that lower value added jobs may go overseas to less expensive labor markets, where digitization has a positive effect on employment. Some sectors such as financial services gain more in terms of productivity, while others such as retail gain more in terms of employment. These rankings point to the complex relationships among various factors in deter- mining an economy’s ability to attract and/or create ICT jobs. Moreover, they also suggest that more work needs to be done to expand such methodologies to include ICT-enabled work such as online contracting. Sources: Ian Marriott, “Gartner’s 30 Leading Locations for Offshore Services, 2013.� Gartner, January 17, 2013: http://www. gartner.com/id=2306315 (June 13, 2013); Sony Shetty, “Gartner says India Still No. 1 Destination for Offshore Services.� Gartner, December 21, 2010: http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/1502714 (June 13, 2013); Booz & Company, Maximizing the Impact of Digitalization. (New York: Booz & Company, 2012): http://www.booz.com/media/file/BoozCo_Maximizing-the- Impact-of-Digitization.pdf (June 13, 2013); Fraunhofer, Competitiveness Index for the Software and IT Services Industry in Europe. (Karlsruhe: Software AG, May 30, 2010): http://www.softwareag.com/us/images/Fraunhofer-ISI---Wettbewerbsindex- 1.0-englisch_tcm89-76367.pdf (June 13, 2013); A. T. Kearney, Global Services Location Index: http://www.atkearney. com/gbpc/global-services-location-index; The World Bank, The Global Opportunity in IT-based Services: Assessing and Enhancing Country Competitiveness, (Washington DC: The World Bank Group, 2010), 9: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/ EXTINFORMATIONANDCOMMUNICATIONANDTECHNOLOGIES/Resources/Global_Opportunity_IT_Based_Services. pdf; AT Kearney. Offshoring Opportunities Amid Economic Turbulence. (Chicago, AT Kearney, 2011): 16https://www. atkearney.com/documents/10192/f062cfd8-ee98-4312-ae4f-0439afc10880 (June 10, 2013). 53 connectingtowork do not propose a precise mapping of enabling Indeed, one of the most important findings systems to specific opportunities. However, it is of this analysis has been that while broadband possible to note that the countries where workers connectivity is necessary, it is not sufficient to participate most in online work are also those that enable the global ICT-enabled work opportunity. are ranked highly in these ICT industry indices Consequently, countries that are less developed (see Box E). in telecommunications connectivity but have well Yet, this should not exclude other countries developed financial systems, human capital sys- from evaluating these new opportunities for tems, and can put in place enabling and balanced ICT-enabled employment. Not every country regulatory frameworks can also benefit from may become a major ICT industry participant, these opportunities. but it is possible to see that many more countries Hence, governments that are keen to realize the have workers participating in online work, for opportunity of ICT-enabled employment should example, than only these rankings would suggest. at least consider which enabling systems need Efforts among online contracting or microwork attention. Again, the ICT industry in a country or organizations are to make more workers in more region might be relatively small, but other ICT- countries aware of the possibilities of engaging in enabled employment opportunities might have online work. potential to grow. 54 connectingtowork/conclusions_and_policy_recommendations 7. Conclusions and Policy Recommendations This policy note opened with a question that capital but not with the appropriate regulatory or faces governments around the world in an era financial systems, they will not be best positioned where ICT is altering employment opportunities to foster entrepreneurship or a business environ- and is reshaping labor markets: What could coun- ment that would create jobs. Subsequent research tries do to prepare for these changes and maximize and analytical work will be needed to develop a employment opportunities? This note is a first step model based on these ideas. in a planned longer-term effort by the World We recognize that each country will have vary- Bank’s ICT Sector Unit to understand the impli- ing combinations of enabling systems, and that cations of ICT for employment and how countries countries should not follow a �cookie-cutter� ap- could respond given their specific circumstances. proach. Yet some broad strategic considerations The note considered two aspects of ICTs in may be derived. We thus propose three possible employment. First, ICT has an impact on em- strategic considerations for governments as they ployment as an sector. Second, ICT has begun evaluate the opportunity and potential of sup- to play a role in empowering workers by making porting more of their citizens to connect to work. labor markets more inclusive, more transparent First, go beyond ICT jobs alone. ICT jobs have and innovative, and more efficient. significant positive spillover effects, but are only Countries at different stages of development one part of the ICT-enabled employment oppor- have the opportunity to benefit from ICT-enabled tunity. There is also an opportunity to use ICT to employment, even if the extent of these opportu- empower workers and to enlarge labor markets. nities available to each country might vary, given Second, consider all enabling systems. Job the differences in the status of the enabling sys- creation is a complex endeavor that will need tems that are discussed in Section 6. For example, attention to more than the growth of the ICT sec- some countries will be better placed in terms of tor or connectivity. As this policy note discusses, connectivity infrastructure, others might have policymakers will need to consider human larger or more developed human capital systems, capital development, enabling efficient financial and as widely used indices referred to above and payment systems, and regulatory reforms, suggest, these might open up more opportunities in addition to other actions to spur ICT-enabled for people in those countries to benefit from ICT- employment. enabled employment. And third, consider country-specific circum- Each country will need to develop a mix of stances to develop enabling systems. Each country these enabling systems to exploit these oppor- will need to prioritize its own set of actions to tunities. If countries are endowed with human develop these enabling systems and unlock the 55 connectingtowork potential benefits of ICT-enabled work, even as The changes that ICTs are causing to econ- they consider the risks and challenges arising from omies, to employment, and to workers’ lives these new ways of organizing work. Governments are inevitable and they are global. The focus of could foster or enable �no-regret� actions, such governments should be to support and prepare as skills development or the creation of strategic their workers, businesses, and policy frameworks connectivity infrastructure. Consequently, as through and for these changes, mitigating the described in Section 6, policy considerations for losses and maximizing the benefits. governments are as in the table below. Enabling systems Summary of considerations Human capital systems Bridge education to employment by developing skills for ICT jobs, and promoting digital literacy using innovative models to meet the demand for ICT skills. Raise awareness of ICT-enabled employment opportunities among workers Use ICT to support education and training for more people Infrastructure systems Create a broadband telecommunications connectivity infrastructure that connects more people to global employment opportunities, and acts as an enabling infrastructure for the ICT sector. Develop an innovation system that fosters partnerships among various stakeholders. Support SMEs in exploiting access to infrastructure and to adopt ICTs. Ensure access to reliable, clean, and affordable electricity to support sustainable expansion of the digital economy. Ensure safe and accessible transportation systems to ensure that employees (especially women and people with disabilities) can travel to and from their places of work. Social systems Create social safety nets to protect workers. Ensure quality of work, to maximize the number of good jobs. Ensure that workers in the ICT sector and ICT-enabled workers have validated credentials, that the quality of their work can be verified. Financial systems Expand access to finance for SMEs and entrepreneurs. Create efficient and reliable payment systems to ensure that workers are paid with few regulatory or financial overheads. Regulatory systems Balance rules to enable the growth of SMEs and attract employers, while protecting the interests of workers. 56 connectingtowork/refrences 8. References & Notes 1 The World Bank, World Development 9 ITU World Telecommunication/ 15 McKinsey Global Institute. Report (WDR), 2013, (Washington DC: ICT Indicators Database, “Key Disruptive technologies: Advances that The World Bank Group, 2012), 7; ILO Indicators for developed and developing will transform life, business, and the Newsroom. “Global Employment Trends countries and the world (totals and global economy, (New York: McKinsey 2012: World faces a 600 million jobs penetration rates).� International & Company, Inc. May 2013), 30. challenge, warns ILO.� The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Labour Organization (ILO), January 24, (Geneva: ITU data, 2013): http://www. 16 Narasimhan, T.E. “57% of SMEs 2012: http://www.ilo.org/global/about- itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/ use internet as sales channel, finds the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_171700/ statistics/2012/ITU_Key_2006- survey.� Business Standard, June 21, lang--en/index.htm (June 9, 2013). 2013_ICT_data.xls (June 9, 2013). 2011: http://www.business-standard. com/article/sme/57-of-smes-use- 2 The World Bank, World Development 10 Wireless Intelligence. (2013). internet-as-sales-channel-finds-sur- Report (WDR) 2013, (Washington DC: vey-111062100072_1.html (June 9, 2013). The World Bank Group, 2012), 6. 11 Yongsoo Kim, Tim Kelly & Siddhartha Raja, “Building Broadband: Strategies 17 InfoWeek Online (May 2010): http:// 3 Drawn from OECD, New perspectives and policies for the developing world.� www.infoweek.biz/la/wp-content/ on ICT skills and employment, (Paris: Global Information and Communication uploads/2010/05/100513_inter- OECD Publications Service, 2005). Technologies (GICT) Department, net_presentacion.pdf (June 9, 2013). World Bank, (Washington, D.C.: 4 OECD, New perspectives on ICT The World Bank Group, 2010). 18 Elena Kvochko, “Five ways technology skills and employment, (Paris: OECD can help the economy.� World Economic Publications Service, 2005), 8: http:// 12 Matt Ablott, “Huawei and Microsoft Forum, April 11, 2013: http://forumblog. www.oecd.org/internet/iecono- launch low-cost African smartphone.� org/2013/04/five-ways-technology-can- my/34769393.pdf; (June 9, 2013). Mobile World Live, February 5, 2013: help-the-economy/ (June 9, 2013). http://www.mobileworldlive.com/hua- 5 Data sourced from International wei-and-microsoft-launch-low-cost-af- 19 World Bank, World Development Telecommunication Union rican-smartphone (June 9, 2013). Indicators data. (2013). (ITU), Yearbook of statistics: Telecommunication/ICT indicators 2001- 13 World Bank, World Development 20 David Talbot, “Boeing’s Flight for 2010, (Geneva: ITU, December 2011). indicators data. (2013). Survival.� MIT Technology Review, September 1, 2003: http://www.technol- 6 OECD, The impact of the crisis on 14 ITU World Telecommunication/ ogyreview.com/featuredstory/402023/ ICT and ICT-related employment, ICT Indicators Database, “Key boeings-flight-for-survival/ (June 9, 2013). (Paris: OECD Publications Service, Indicators for developed and developing October 2009), 24-25 countries and the world (totals and 21 “War of the virtual wallets.� The penetration rates).� International Economist, November 17, 2012: http:// 7 World Bank, World Development Telecommunication Union (ITU), www.economist.com/news/finance-and- indicators data. (2013). (Geneva: ITU data, 2013): http://www. economics/21566644-visa-mastercard- itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/ and-other-big-payment-networks-need- 8 Wireless Intelligence. (2013). statistics/2012/ITU_Key_2006- not-be-victims-shift (June 9, 2013). 2013_ICT_data.xls (June 9, 2013). 57 connectingtowork 22 The World Bank. The 29 David Autor, The Polarization of 35 “Employment in BPO Industry’s voice Transformational use of Information Job Opportunities in the U.S. Labor sector to grow 15% in 2013 – BPAP.� and Communication Technologies Market: Implications for Employment GMA News Online. (October 30, in Africa, (Washington, D.C.: The and Earnings (Washington DC: The 2012): http://www.gmanetwork.com/ World Bank Group/ The African Center for American Progress and news/story/280295/economy/business/ Development Bank, 2012): www. The Hamilton Project, April 2010). employment-in-bpo-industry-s-voice- eTransformAfrica.org (June 9, 2013). sector-to-grow-15-in-2013-bpap; 30 OECD. OECD Internet Economy Singh, Shelley. “India accounts for half 23 “The Printed World.� The Economist, Outlook 2012. (Paris: OECD Publications of global IT-BPO outsourcing.� The February 11, 2011: http://www.economist. 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Online 67 GSMA Smart Cities. “Smart City Gorbis. “Future Work Skills 2020.� IFTF and upcoming: The Internet’s impact on Resilience: Learning from Emergency & Apollo Research Institute. (Palo Alto: aspiring countries, (New York: McKinsey Response and Coordination in Japan.� Institute for the Future for University of & Company, Inc., January 2012), 16: GSMA.com, January 2013: http://www. Phoenix Research Institute, 2011), 1. http://www.mckinsey.com/client_service/ gsma.com/connectedliving/wp-content/ high_tech/latest_thinking/~/media/FEC uploads/2013/02/cl_SmartCities_ 74 Steve Lohr, “More Jobs Predicted for 3D6DFEAEC4AE0887F2CC987E7F2F0. emer_01_131.pdf (June 9, 2013). Machines, Not People.� The New York ashx (June 9, 2013). Times, October 23, 2011: http://www. 68 Wireless Intelligence. Analysis: nytimes.com/2011/10/24/technology/ 63 McKinsey Global Institute. Global cellular market trends and economists-see-more-jobs-for-machines- Internet matters: The Net’s sweep- insight — Q1 2013. 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Based 90 Neelima Mahajan, “CrowdFlower How mobile technology can improve on: http://research.odesk.com/visual- Gets Gamers to do Real Work for working life in emerging economies. izations/country-dashboard/#/bubble/ Virtual Pay.� MissionLocal, November 5, (Berkshire, UK: Vodafone Group Plc. Pakistan and http://research.odesk.com/ 2010: http://missionlocal.org/2010/11/ April 2013): http://www.vodafone. visualizations/country-dashboard/#/ crowdflower/ (June 10, 2013). com/content/dam/vodafone/about/ bubble/United States (June 9, 2013). sustainability/research/Vodafone_sus- 91 Neelima Mahajan, “CrowdFlower tainability_research-Connected_work- 84 Elance. Global Impact Report 2012: Gets Gamers to do Real Work for ers_high_res.pdf (June 9, 2013). https://www.elance.com/q/sites/default/ Virtual Pay.� MissionLocal, November 5, files/docs/AIR/AnnualImpactReport. 2010: http://missionlocal.org/2010/11/ 77 Islam Hamid, Saori Imaizumi & pdf.html (June 9, 2013). crowdflower/ (June 10, 2013). Andreas Blom. Report No. 34 South Asia Human Development Sector, Sindh 85 Peter Vanham. Virtual working 92 Olivia Allen, “Samasource: Employer’s Survey for 2010. (Washington, takes off in EMs. Beyondbrics, Advancing the Microwork Revolution.� D.C.: The World Bank Group, April (May 23, 2012): http://blogs.ft.com/ Social Enterprise Institute: http:// 2011): http://www-wds.worldbank.org/ beyond-brics/2012/05/23/virtual-work- www.northeastern.edu/sei/2012/12/ external/default/WDSContentServer/ ing-takes-offin-ems/#axzz1vu6IHRo6. samasource-advancing-the-mi- WDSP/IB/2011/05/30/000356161 crowork-revolution/; Women in the _20110530062923/Rendered PDF/ 86 Freelancer. Freelancer.com Launches World Foundation, Samasource: http:// 621500NWP0Repo0Box0349464B00 Dedicated Website for India: Indians womenintheworld.org/solutions/ PUBLIC0.pdf (June 9, 2013). 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(Berkshire, UK: Vodafone Group Plc. 88 See, for example, http://www. April 2013): http://www.vodafone. bloomberg.com/video/82153302- 94 The World Bank, World com/content/dam/vodafone/about/ odesk-ceo-sees-online-jobs-growth. Development Indicators Databank, sustainability/research/Vodafone_sus- html (June 10, 2013). (Washington, D.C.: The World tainability_research-Connected_work- Bank Group, January 31, 2012). ers_high_res.pdf (June 9, 2013). 89 The World Bank. “Feasibility Study: Microwork for the Palestinian 95 ICRW. Bridging the Gender 81 Elance. Global Online Territories.� Country Management Divide: How Technology can Advance Employment Report – Q1 2013. Unit for the Palestinian Territories Women Economically. (Washington, https://www.elance.com/q/online-em- and Information Communication D.C.: International Center for ployment-report (June 9, 2013). Technologies Unit. (Washington, D.C.: Research on Women (ICRW), 2010): The World Bank Group, February 2013): http://www.gbchealth.org/system/ 82 oDesk. Country Dashboard. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/ documents/category_1/359/Bridging- (2012): http://research.odesk.com/ INTWESTBANKGAZA/Resources/ the-Gender-Divide-How-Technology- visualizations/country-dashboard/#/ Finalstudy.pdf (June 10, 2013). can-Advance-Women-Economically. bubble/Papua New Guinea (June 9, 2013). pdf?1345230669 (June 10, 2013). 61 connectingtowork 96 The World Bank, World 103 Digital Divide Data. “I Have 108 The National Bureau of Economic Development Indicators Databank, the Ability: Chheng’s Story.� Digital Research (NBER). The Growth of Low (Washington, D.C.: The World Divide Data, July 13, 2012: http://www. Skill Service Jobs and the Polarization of Bank Group, January 31, 2012). digitaldividedata.org/news/2012/07/i- the U.S. Labor Market. by David H. Autor have-the-ability-chhengs-story/; Digital and David Dorn. 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Mobile Use at the jobs compounded by tech advances.� Education to Employment: Designing base of the pyramid in South Africa. MSN News, January 23, 2013: http://news. a System that Works. (New York: (Washington DC: International Bank msn.com/us/loss-of-middle-class-jobs- McKinsey & Company, Inc., January for Reconstruction and Development compounded-by-tech-advances (June 2013); Glowork: http://www.glowork.net and The World Bank Group, December 10, 2013); Kenneth Rogoff, “King Ludd 2012): http://www.infodev.org/en/ is Still Dead.� Project Syndicate, October 102 D. Van Welsum & P. Motagnier. Document.1193.pdf (June 10, 2013). 1, 2012: http://www.project-syndicate. ICT and gender: Evidence from OECD org/commentary/technology-unemploy- and non OECD countries. PowerPoint 107 Bernard Condon and Paul Weisman. ment-jobs-internet-by-kenneth-rogoff presented World Bank at OECD and “Loss of middle class jobs compounded (June 10, 2013); McKinsey Global World Bank joint seminar. 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European e-Com- September 22, 2012: http://www. and The Committee of the Regions. petence Framework 2.0 Defining the skills nytimes.com/2012/09/23/technology/ (Brussels: Commission of the European and competences of ICT Professionals. data-centers-waste-vast-amounts-of-en- Communities, 2006): http://eur-lex. (Brussels: European Committee for ergy-belying-industry-image.html?pag- europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ. Standardization (CEN), 2008): ftp://ftp. ewanted=all&_r=0 (June 10, 2013). do?uri=COM:2006:0502:FIN:EN:PDF cen.eu/CEN/AboutUs/Publications/e- (June 10, 2013). CF_leaflet.pdf (June 10, 2013). 146 The Centre for Energy-Efficient Telecommunications (CEET). The 149 infoDev, International Good Practice 139 Jacques Bughin, Michael Chui, Power of Wireless Cloud. (Melbourne: for Establishment of Sustainable IT Parks, and James Manyika. “Ten IT-enabled The University of Melbourne, April (Washington, D.C., October 14, 2008). business trends for the decade ahead.� 2013): http://www.ceet.unimelb.edu. McKinsey Quarterly, (New York: au/pdfs/ceet_white_paper_wire- McKinsey &. Company, Inc., May 2013). less_cloud.pdf (June 10, 2013). 64 connectingtowork/refrences 150 See, for example, NETPark Net: http://www.uknetpark.net/language/ en-GB/JoinusNow/SummaryofPlans. aspx#.UYDyIqLJwWE (June 10, 2013). 151 OECD, Promoting Entrepreneurship and Innovative SMEs in a Global Economy: Towards a More Responsible and Inclusive Globalisation. (Paris: OECD Publications Office, 2004): http://www.oecd.org/cfe/ smes/31919255.pdf (June 10, 2013). 152 NASSCOM. National Skills Registry for IT/ITES Professional (NSR-ITP): http://www.NASSCOM. org/initiatives/2202 (June 10, 2013). 153 Jana Mobile, Inc. http://www. jana.com/about/ (June 10, 2013). 154 International Finance Corporation (IFC). Scaling-Up SME Access to Financial Services in the Developing World. (Washington, D.C.: International Finance Corporation and The World Bank Group, October 2010), 6: http://www1.ifc. org/wps/wcm/connect/bd1b060049585e- f29e5abf19583b6d16/ScalingUp. pdf?MOD=AJPERES; (June 10, 2013). 155 infoDev. Financing Technology Entrepreneurs & SMEs in Developing Countries: Challenges and Opportunities. (Washington, D.C.: Information for Development Program (infoDev)/ The World Bank,June 2008): http:// www.infodev.org/infodev-files/ resource/InfodevDocuments_544. pdf (June 10, 2013). About the Authors Siddhartha Raja is a Policy Specialist with the Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) Sector Unit of the World Bank. He works on telecommunications for economic growth and competitiveness, and on the future of employment. Mr. Raja leads operational and advisory engagements in Afghanistan, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus. He has also published reports on ICT convergence and broadband strategy with the World Bank. Saori Imaizumi is a Consultant with the World Bank’s ICT Sector Unit. Her focus is on higher education and skills development projects to enhance employability. She has researched the use of ICTs and especially mobile telephones for employment. Ms. Imaizumi has also worked as an education specialist in the World Bank’s South Asia department, and prior to that, as an information technology (IT) outsourcing business consultant at Accenture. Dr. Tim Kelly is a Lead ICT Policy Specialist with the World Bank’s ICT Sector Unit, where he leads the unit’s research work. Dr. Kelly leads operational and advisory activities in Africa and Eastern Europe. Dr. Kelly is widely published, and recently led research on mobile telephone use at the base of the pyramid, mobile applications for development, and ICTs in post-conflict situations. He has previously worked at infoDev, a global partnership of the World Bank Group, the International Telecommunication Union, and the Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development. Junko Narimatsu is a Consultant with the World Bank’s ICT Sector Unit. She is currently involved in ICT programs in East Asia and the Pacific and in Latin America. Ms. Narimatsu has contributed to research on IT industry and skills development and on leveraging ICTs for low-carbon urban development. Prior to joining the World Bank, she worked as communications advisor and systems analyst for ExxonMobil. Cecilia Paradi-Guilford is an ICT Innovation Specialist at the World Bank’s ICT Sector Unit. She works on open innovation systems, with a focus on leveraging mobile telecommunications technologies for development in the Middle East and North Africa. Her work has focused on urban services, jobs, and entrepreneurship. She has coordinated a number of competitive award programs to spur innovation among ICT entrepreneurs in the developing world. connectingtowork 1818 H St NW, Washington, DC 20433 USA Phone:( 202) 473-1000