Going Remote

Can the flexible work economy improve lives and cities?

More than two years into the pandemic, six-in-ten Americans whose jobs can be done remotely, continue to work from home all or most of the time. If this trend persists, how is it likely to affect workers' quality of life, the profitability of firms, and the economic geography of cities and suburbs?

Urban economist Matthew Kahn argues that remote work presents especially valuable opportunities for flexibility and equity in the lives of women, minorities, and young people, and even for those whose jobs do not allow them to work from home. Pew Researcher Kim Parker has the latest data on how Americans feel about working from home and about their employers.

Bring your questions and join us for this live discussion, moderated by sociologist Kyla Thomas of the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research. Her recent research is focused on the cultural mechanisms through which social and economic inequalities are reproduced in institutions like the U.S. labor market.

Participants:
Matthew Kahn, USC Dornsife Provost Professor of Economics and Spatial Sciences. Author of Going Remote: How the Flexible Work Economy Can Improve our Lives Cities.

Kim Parker, Pew Research Director, Social Trends Research. Co-author of research report “COVID-19 Pandemic Continues to Reshape Work in America.”

Moderator: Kyla Thomas, sociologist, USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research

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