Going Remote by Matthew E. Kahn

GOING REMOTE by Matthew E. Kahn concentrates on “How the Flexible Work Economy Can Improve Our Lives and Our Cities.” Kahn, a professor at the University of Southern California, has written extensively on environmental and urban economics issues. In this case, he definitely uses an economics lens to look at work from home (WFH) with sections on the short- and medium-term gains for workers, plus the reactions by firms and local governments. His introduction provides an excellent overview of these general trends. One point that surprised me a bit is his frequent references to cities like Seattle and San Francisco (109 and 50 mentions, respectively) which, admittedly, are likely to see more WFH; however, Kahn scarcely comments on some potentially “hot” markets like Raleigh, Nashville, or even Atlanta (1, 4 and 6 mentions). As such, his text seems more theoretical than a “how-to” guide for workers, firms or cities, although he definitely is a proponent of remote work, saying “the ability to unbundle where we live from where [we] work creates new opportunities for many of us.” Roughly fifteen percent of the book is devoted to helpful notes and there are several additional pages filled with “Recommended Reading.