Mark Graham and I have just published a new article in the African Geographical Review. The article’s main argument is that economic upgrading in the South African BPO industry can lead to both social upgrading and downgrading among contact centre agents. Anwar, M. A. and Graham, M. (2019) Does economic upgrading lead to social upgrading… Read More »
I had the opportunity to contribute to this new BCC World Service programme ‘Will AI kill development?’. Listen here, or contact me for an mp3 if you’re unable to access it. Summary Ian Goldin asks if robotisation will prevent poorer countries taking the traditional route to prosperity. Since World War Two, nation after nation has… Read More »
Amir Anwar and I have a new article out in First Monday. The piece think through what a planetary labour market entails, how it is relationally, spatially, and discursively constructed, and who it benefits. I’m pasting the abstract and conclusions below. Graham, M., and Anwar, M. A. 2019. The Global Gig Economy: Towards a Planetary… Read More »
I have a new co-authored article out, with two colleagues, based on our fieldwork with gig workers in Africa and Asia. The piece is about collective organisation in the gig economy and argues that as the gig economy grows in importance so too will worker self-organisation. Wood, A., Lehdonvirta, V., and Graham, M. 2018. Workers of the Internet… Read More »
We have a new publication out that summarises some of our Geonet research to-date. You can download the full paper here, or get a free open-access version at the link below: Graham, M., Ojanpera, S., Anwar, M. A., and Friederici, N. 2017. Digital Connectivity and African Knowledge Economies. Questions de Communication. 32. 345-360. Abstract: Connectivity throughout… Read More »
Earlier this month, I was on a panel at re:publica titled ‘Perspectives from developing countries – It’s the End of the work as we know It (and I feel fine)!’. Half of the panel is in German, but if you (aren’t a German speaker) can skip through to the English-language parts.
A network that I am part of – the The Future of Work in Developing Countries initiative – has just put out a new publication titled ‘The Future of Work in the Global South’. You can download the full publication here. It also contains a piece by my colleagues and I on the potentials of… Read More »
I have a short piece in New Statesman about the rise of what I am calling a planetary labour market. I wrote it because this will be the first year in human history in which a majority of the world’s population is connected to the internet. The internet is therefore no longer a network that… Read More »
I’m happy to report on a new co-authored paper that I have out. The piece asks what difference changing connectivity has made for East African firms. The piece emerges from a multi-year study on Development and Broadband Internet Access in East Africa that evolved into the current ‘Geonet‘ project. Foster, C., Graham, M., Mann, L., Waema, T., and… Read More »
The Geonet team will attend next year’s Global Conference of Economic Geography (GCEG) in full strength, running two hopefully lively sessions. Both run under the larger theme “Digital Economies, Digital Connectivity, Digital Margins.” Papers can be submitted between 15 Nov 2017 and 15 March 2018 on the GCEG website (https://www.gceg2018.com). Digital Economies, Digital Connectivity,… Read More »