Winners and Losers from the Work-from-Home Technology Boon

We model how an increase in Work-from-Home (WFH) productivity differentially affects workers using a framework in which some workers cannot work offsite, some are hybrid, and some are completely remote. The improvement in WFH productivity increases housing demand and thus housing prices since housing is inelastically supplied. Because workers in non-telecommutable occupations must consume housing but their total factor productivity does not increase, the rise in house prices reduces their welfare. The welfare decline is equivalent to 1-9% of consumption, depending on how substitutable WFH is with onsite work, and it arises despite measured income of all workers increasing.

Keywords: JEL codes: G12, O33, O41, R12, R33

JEL Classification: G12, O33, O41, R12, R33

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Ghent, Andra C. and Davis, Morris and Gregory, Jesse, Winners and Losers from the Work-from-Home Technology Boon (December 12, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4768634 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4768634