Primary Submission Category: Instrumental Variables
Online Training, Working from Home, and Industry Productivity
Authors: Octavio M. Aguilar,
Presenting Author: Octavio M. Aguilar*
In this paper, I use an instrumented difference-in-differences approach to investigate the impact of online training on industry productivity both during and after the COVID-19 Recession. I provide new evidence indicating that industries with higher exposure to online training experience a substantial and enduring decline in productivity —1.3% in 2021 and 5.2% in 2022. To understand the mechanisms behind this productivity decrease, I investigate the positive relationship between working from home (WFH) and online training. Additionally, I explore the time allocation of employees to online training post-COVID-19 Recession. I find the following: (1) for every 1% increase in WFH, there is a 4.5% increase in online training, and (2) increases in WFH contribute to, on average, an additional 130 minutes per-day spent on online training. I argue that the decline in productivity can be attributed to the reduced supervision of employees working remotely. Consequently, employees allocate labor hours to enhance their human capital.