Invisible Labor, Hidden Gaps: Measuring Women’s Informal Work with Digital Trace Data

Contreras et al. (2024) show that innovative surveys can reduce underreporting of women’s work, but what if we go further and use digital footprints? This project would partner with mobile payment providers and online platforms to analyze anonymized transaction data for patterns of informal economic activity among women. By triangulating this with survey and administrative data, we can estimate the true size and wage structure of women’s informal labor. This approach leverages recent advances in data science and addresses a longstanding blind spot in labor economics—offering a more accurate, granular view of the gender gap, especially in developing economies where informality is high.

References:

1. Closing the Gaps: The Role of Screening Questions and Self-Reporting in Measuring Women’s and Youths’ Employment and Work. Ivette Contreras, Lelys Dinarte-Diaz, Amparo Palacios-Lopez, Valentina Costa, Steffanny Romero (2024).