top of page

Remote work

I really enjoyed this article on remote working by Aki Ito from Business Insider. Students are pretty good at using the argument that remote work helps geographic mobility, but this article discusses how remote workers can find it difficult to find new jobs. It references a paper by Enrico Moretti at UC Berkley who discusses the size of job markets and the quality of matches.


Here are some possible comprehension questions: What trend did the author observe about Americans during the pandemic regarding their living preferences?

  1. According to the Census Bureau's new estimates, what was the net migration change for New York from mid-2022 to mid-2023?

  2. What does Enrico Moretti suggest is the major disadvantage for professionals moving away from big cities?

  3. How does living in a smaller labor market affect a professional's career, based on Moretti's findings?

  4. Define 'agglomeration' as used in the context of the article.

  5. How did the rise of remote work initially seem to change the professional risks associated with leaving big cities?

  6. Why are current trends in remote work hiring significant for those who have moved away from large labor markets?

  7. According to Moretti, why is being in a large labor market considered "insurance" against future professional instability?

  8. What are "knowledge spillovers" and how do they occur in large cities according to the article?

  9. What personal experience did the author share about living in Sacramento versus San Francisco, and how did it affect his career?

bottom of page