CSH Talk by Alan Kwan “Mapping out Knowledge Work Across Firms: A Primer on Applications and an Early Look at the Implications of Remote Work”

Alan Kwan (Hongkong University) will present a talk on Friday, September 15, from 3 – 4 PM at the Salon.

Title: Mapping out Knowledge Work Across Firms: A Primer on Applications and an Early Look at the Implications of Remote Work

Abstract: For decades, companies such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon have harvested ubiquitous digital footprints and contain vast information about consumer preferences, current topics of interest, and purchase intent. A recent innovation in the space has been to map internet activity back to anonymized employees of firms. In this talk, I introduce the basic concepts and methodologies in this space and discuss various economic applications, such as nowcasting firm activity and performance. In particular, I discuss how this digital footprinting can give us insights into how knowledge workers behave particularly in the recent era of remote work, and provide some early characterizations of the link between remote work and productivity.