Digitalization and the Future of Work and Politics: A Field Experiment in Ghana

• In Event: Poster Session: Middle East and North African Politics & African Politics
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: African Politics

Abstract

Since 2000, many countries in Africa have experienced various forms of transformations in terms of political, socioeconomic, and cultural outcomes and it appears that at the heart of such changes is an increasing level of digitalization. The information and communication technology boom have led to new forms of digital technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Quantum Computing, Blockchain, etc. that shape all aspects of human life. Recently, mobility restrictions associated with the Coronavirus pandemic have made the impact of digitalization even more pronounced. Digitalization brings several advantages and opportunities but also new challenges and threats. In the world of work for example, it presents opportunities for the creation of new products and processes. It lowers transaction costs and allows firms to automate both individual tasks and whole jobs. This, however, poses threats of new challenges to employers, employees and the state alike. New jobs or tasks may require a new skill set, competencies, attitudes, policies among others which render existing traditional systems redundant or ineffective. The future of digitalization therefore evokes both fears and hopes. Yet, these two concepts have not explicitly been examined in Africa against the backdrop of the future of work and politics. This paper studies (1) the prevalence of fear and hope about digitalization and the future of work and (2) the extent to which the widespread of digitalization hope or fear may shape the politics of the future of work. After implementing a field survey experiment on 1252 respondents in Ghana, the results preliminarily show that participants are generally optimistic about their future job prospects irrespective of perceived positive or negative consequences of digitalization. Gender and education tend to be the significant predictors of fear and hope, and those who show pessimism towards digitalization are more likely than others to support the state’s protection of jobs against layoffs. This study fills an important research gap by not only contributing to the limited literature on digitalization in Africa but also offers empirical evidence on two important notions in the digitalization debate that have not explicitly received research attention but are essential to the understanding of how governments and people respond to digitalization.

Author

• Evans Tindana Awuni, University of Erfurt