Time: 15:30-17:00 on Tuesday, Mar.11, 2025

Location: Room 303, Starr Building

Topic: Measuring and Boosting the Productivity of Disabled Workers: The Case of Food-Delivery Workers in China

Speaker: Dr. Zhe YUAN, Zhejiang University

Host: Professor Lingfang LI, Fudan SoM

Abstract: Workers with disabilities face significant barriers to securing stable, well-paying jobs, leading to economic hardship and substantial social costs. While disability rights legislation aims to improve employment outcomes, its effectiveness remains uncertain, and little is known about the productivity of disabled workers across different job settings. This paper examines the performance, retention, and profitability of hearing-impaired food-delivery workers in China using comprehensive administrative data from one of the country's largest delivery platforms. To better understand the mechanisms underlying productivity differences, we complement our empirical analysis with ethnographic fieldwork, including in-person interviews with disabled workers and direct observations of their daily work routines. These qualitative insights reveal key operational bottlenecks, particularly in customer interactions and unexpected logistical challenges, that constrain efficiency. Leveraging a policy change, we assess the impact of an intelligent outbound call system designed to improve communication for hearing-impaired workers. We find that this intervention significantly enhances disabled workers’ productivity, reduces negative customer reviews, and increases their work participation, particularly in adverse weather conditions. Our findings highlight the potential of technology-driven interventions to improve the employment outcomes of disabled workers while simultaneously benefiting firms. These results have broader implications for policy design in gig economy settings and labor markets where communication barriers limit worker productivity.

Bio: Dr. Zhe YUAN is a Hundred Talents Program Researcher and doctoral supervisor at the School of Economics, Zhejiang University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto and his bachelor's degree from Peking University. Dr. Yuan's research focuses on the economic impact of algorithms and artificial intelligence, empirical studies in platform and industrial economics. He collaborates with leading tech companies to study topics such as algorithms and AI on digital platforms (e.g., search and recommendation systems, impact of large language models), platform governance (mechanism and information disclosure design), data elements (data value and privacy), and network economics (aviation and telecommunications networks). His research has been published in top international journals, including the Rand Journal of Economics, AEJ-Microeconomics, Management Science, and Information Systems Research.