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Article
Who Can Work and Study from Home in Pakistan: Evidence from a 2018-19 Nationwide Household Survey
Economics Working Papers
  • Syed Hasan, Lahore University of Management Sciences
  • Attique Rehman, Lahore University of Management Sciences
  • Wendong Zhang, Iowa State University
Publication Date
8-5-2020
Number
20010
Abstract

In this article, we examine the feasibility of working and studying from home in Pakistan. We take advantage of the recently released 2018–19 Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) Survey. PSLM is a nationally representative household survey with extensive information on employment outcomes, children’s educational attainment, as well as internet and computer access and prior usage information. Modifying Dingel and Neiman [2020]’s approach, we define the feasibility of jobs that can be done from home based on the percentage of tasks that can be switched online and accounting for internet accessibility. We also investigate the possibilities for students to study from home via TV or internet. We find that only 10% of jobs in Pakistan can be done from home; however, megacities have much higher rates and rural areas have lower rates. In addition, many of Pakistan’s male workers are in low-skill, low-paying service industries and cannot work from home, while occupations with a higher female employment share have a relatively higher work-from-home share despite lower percentage of prior internet use. Our results also highlight the homeschooling challenges Pakistan’s students face given the low rates of television and internet access. The government’s outreach effort through the new Teleschool TV channel could help alleviate pre-existing gender inequalities in access to education.

Version History

Original Release Date: May 2, 2020

Revision: August 5, 2020

Departments
Department of Economics, Iowa State University
File Format
application/pdf
Length
25 pages
Citation Information
Syed Hasan, Attique Rehman and Wendong Zhang. "Who Can Work and Study from Home in Pakistan: Evidence from a 2018-19 Nationwide Household Survey" (2020)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/wendong_zhang/97/