Taking Gerschenkron to the Field: Attitudes towards Digitalization Hopes and Fears about the Future of Work in Ghana

Abstract

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) bring many hopes for development. But there are also fears arising, particularly when they affect the future of work. While there are many studies on public opinion about how ICT will shape work in OECD countries, we find much less research in developing countries in which labor markets work very differently. We present evidence from a field survey with an experimental component in Ghana. We show that, while hopes are much more pronounced than in advanced economies, opinions also change once people are exposed to new types of information. Using a ‘text as data’ approach, we also investigate reasons that explain the differences in attitudes and what people associate with digitalization. We conclude that, in Ghana, especially semi-formal, self-employed people hope that new technologies will allow them to leapfrog old ones that have historically been marred by market and government failures. Compared to developed countries, it is rather some of the higher educated to whom the negative consequences also have relevance. Our findings have broader implications for the acceptance and use of ICT and the future of work in developing countries.