Oxford Internet Institute

Current projects

• iLabour: The Construction of Labour Markets, Institutions and Movements on the Internet

  Participants: Professor Vili Lehdonvirta, Dr Otto Kässi, Greetje (Gretta) Corporaal, Dr Alex J. Wood

  The iLabour project is premised on the idea that a fundamental change is taking place in labour markets. It seeks to understand the social and policy implications of this momentous shift.

Past projects

• The Internet’s Effects on Economic Opportunities in Rural Areas: the Case of Online Labour Markets

  Participants: Professor Vili Lehdonvirta, Dr Otto Kässi, Dr Fabian Braesemann

  This project tracks where digitally transacted work takes place, and compares this data to city- and state-level labour market statistics in order to test whether geographical working patterns differ between online and traditional labour markets.

• The Global Platform Economy: A New Off-Shoring Institution Enabling Emerging Economy Providers

  Recorded: 8 November 2018

  Duration: 00:03:58

  Video abstract of the paper 'The Global Platform Economy: A New Off-Shoring Institution Enabling Emerging Economy Providers', published in the Journal of Management

• Online labour platforms offer growing alternative to traditional offshoring

  8 November 2018

  Online labour platforms that connect freelance workers and clients around the world are emerging as an alternative to traditional offshoring, according to new Oxford Internet Institute research.

• Prizes for OII staff and students at Oxford’s OxTalent awards

  22 June 2017

  The OII picked up prizes at Oxford's 2017 OxTALENT awards, which recognise members of the University who have made innovative use of digital technology.

• Rise of online work captured in the first Online Labour Index

  21 September 2016

  The Online Labour Index is a tool that measures the utilisation of online labour markets in near realtime. It shows us how much work is being done, and what kinds of skills are being utilised.

• Comparing the OLI Worker Map to other studies on online work supply

  14 July 2017

  Author: Otto Kassi

  Our new Online Labour Index worker map provides a real-time measurement of the online gig economy by revealing where different types of jobs are ... Read More Comparing the OLI Worker Map to other studies on online work supply

• Measuring the supply of digital labour: How the OLI worker supplement is constructed

  11 July 2017

  Author: Otto Kassi

  As more and more tasks and projects are transacted via online platforms and apps, national governments and statistical agencies face increasing challenges in tracking ... Read More Measuring the supply of digital labour: How the OLI worker supplement is constructed

• Online Labour Index wins in a University data visualisation competition

  29 June 2017

  Author: Otto Kassi

  We are happy to announce that the Online Labour Index won the first prize in an annual OxTALENT competition organised by the University of ... Read More Online Labour Index wins in a University data visualisation competition

• Mapping the demand for online labour

  27 October 2016

  Author: Otto Kassi

  Our colleagues over at the Geonet project have drawn some wonderful maps based on our Online Labour Index country data. The open vacancies are plotted ... Read More Mapping the demand for online labour

• How is online work classified in the OLI?

  21 September 2016

  Author: Otto Kassi

  The Online Labour Index  is an index measuring the changes in the volume of projects transacted in major online platforms. As a part of OLI, ... Read More How is online work classified in the OLI?

• How the Online Labour Index is constructed

  18 September 2016

  Author: Otto Kassi

  The Online Labour Index is an index that measures the utilization of online labour platforms over time and across countries and occupations. Online labour ... Read More How the Online Labour Index is constructed

• Building the Online Labour Index

  25 February 2016

  Author: Otto Kassi

  “While it may seem trivial if, for example, a housewife spends ten minutes filling out an online survey for a dollar, if there are ... Read More Building the Online Labour Index

• Building the Online Labour Index

  25 February 2016

  Author: Otto Kassi

  “While it may seem trivial if, for example, a housewife spends ten minutes filling out an online survey for a dollar, if there are ... Read More Building the Online Labour Index

• Online gig economy is growing, but no one knows by how much

  4 November 2018 CBC

  
  

  That's the gap the Oxford University-based OLI is attempting to bridge, and its creators boast that the index is the first of its kind — a global economic indicator for the online gig economy.

• Online Gig Economy Up 26% Over Last Year: Oxford Internet Institute

  9 July 2017 Spend Matters

  
  

  The Oxford Internet Institute recently highlighted a sharp rise in its Online Labour Index, which "measures the utilization of online labor across countries and occupations by tracking the number of projects and tasks in real time."

• Online jobs in gig economy growing fast, finds new index

  22 September 2016 The Guardian

  
  

  Jobs advertised on sites such as as Freelancer.com and PeoplePerHour leapt by 14% since May, says OII's Online Labour index.

• Forget Uber: Online self-employment gigs are booming in popularity

  22 September 2016 The Memo

  
  

  The total number of new freelance digital jobs in the UK has jumped a huge 14% since May alone, according to new data.

• Oxford Internet Institute’s iLabour Project Launches Online Labor Index to Measure Gig Economy

  22 September 2016 Spend Matters

  
  

  Oxford University Associate Professor Vili Lehdonvirta and fellow researcher Dr Otto Kässi have announced the public launch of the Online Labour Index (OLI), a first-of-its-kind metric to track utilization of "online labor" in the so-called "gig economy".

• A third of companies are at ‘full capacity’ and looking to hire

  22 September 2016 CIPD

  
  

  The OII's new Online Labour Index tracks job vacancies listed on sites such as Freelancer and PeoplePerHour, with growth in the UK faster than the rest of Europe and the US.

• Gig economy on the rise in the UK

  21 September 2016 IT Pro

  
  

  Oxford research reveals 14% increase in on-demand freelance platforms in the UK since May.

• Rapid increase in ‘gig’ working

  21 September 2016 HR Magazine

  
  

  Researchers at the University of Oxford have launched the Online Labour Index, which gathered data on the online gig economy from sites and apps across the world between May and September 2016.