Business Economics (2020) 55:253–266

https://doi.org/10.1057/s11369-020-00191-3

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

The coronavirus crisis and the technology sector

Carolyn Evans1

Published online: 23 November 2020

© National Association for Business Economics 2020

Abstract
The coronavirus crisis has created a profound shift in how people interact and economies function. Policy mandates and
fears of becoming infected or infecting others have impelled populations to shelter at home, socially distance, and otherwise
reduce direct, in-person interactions with others. By enabling people to conduct many regular activities remotely, including
working, learning, shopping, and receiving medical services, technology has allowed the continuation of some semblance of
a normal lifestyle in this new environment. Within this context, the IT sector has provided the tools and resources required
to support these remote activities, as well as to address the pandemic more directly through efforts such as supporting con-
tact tracing and providing high-performance computing resources for COVID-19-related research. This paper discusses in
more detail this impact of the pandemic on the technology industry, and its response to this shock, by addressing three ele-
ments: accelerated digital transformation, increased importance of technology in the economy and society, and prevalence
of inequalities in access to and the use of technology.

Keywords  COVID-19 · Information technology · Digital transformation · Digital divide · Remote work · Remote learning

1 Introduction This paper discusses in more detail this impact of the

pandemic on the technology industry, and its response to
The coronavirus crisis has created a profound shift in how this shock, by addressing three elements: accelerated digi-
people interact and economies function. Policy mandates tal transformation, increased importance of technology in
and fears of becoming infected or infecting others have the economy and society, and prevalence of inequalities in
impelled populations to shelter at home, socially distance access to and the use of technology.
and otherwise reduce direct, in-person interactions with
others.
By enabling people to conduct many regular activities 2 Accelerated digital transformation
remotely, including working, learning, shopping and receiv-
ing medical services, technology has allowed the continu- From the rise of e-commerce to the increased use of video
ation of some semblance of a normal lifestyle in this new chat and connection via online platforms to the automation
environment. Within this context, the IT sector has provided of some types of work, a global digital transformation has
the tools and resources required to support these remote been underway for many years. With the onset of the pan-
activities, as well as to address the pandemic more directly demic in early 2020, however, requirements to socially dis-
through efforts such as supporting contact tracing and pro- tance and shelter at home have served as catalysts to acceler-
viding high-performance computing resources for COVID- ate this process.
19-related research. Technology leaders nodded to these changes when report-
ing quarterly results for the year. Satya Nadella of Microsoft
The views in this paper are solely the responsibility of the noted, “We’ve seen 2 years’ worth of digital transformation
author and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of in 2 months” (https​://www.micro​soft.com/en-us/Inves​tor/
Intel Corporation or of any other person associated with Intel earni​ngs/FY-2020-Q3/press​-relea​se-webca​st), and, “The
Corporation. last 5 months have made it clear that tech intensity is the
* Carolyn Evans
key to business resilience. Organizations that build their own
digital capability will recover faster and emerge from this
1
Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, CA, USA

Vol.:(0123456789)
 C. Evans
254

Table 1  Changes to education US Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey (Wave 1)

for US households
All results for households with children enrolled in private or public school
Proportions Household income groups Total
responding
≤ $34,999 House- Household Income Between ≥ $150,000 House-
hold Income $35,000 and $149,000 hold Income

No change in education because schools did not close

 Yes 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00
 No 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Education moved online
 Yes 0.59 0.75 0.85 0.72
 No 0.41 0.25 0.15 0.28
Education moved to paper
 Yes 0.25 0.21 0.16 0.22
 No 0.75 0.79 0.84 0.78
Classes canceled
 Yes 0.53 0.42 0.35 0.44
 No 0.47 0.58 0.65 0.56

The Household Pulse Survey data provide eight income groupings, which have been collected into the
groups above. The $34,999 and below group constitutes about 27% of the sample of families with chil-
dren enrolled in public or private school, the $35,000 to $149,999 group about 58%, and the $150,000 and
above group about 15%

crisis stronger…”(https​://www.micro​soft.com/en-us/Inves​ platforms. In addition to online modalities, television and

tor/earni​ngs/FY-2020-Q4/press​-relea​se-webca​st). Sundar radio have also come into use in countries where the technol-
Pichai of Google stated (https​://abc.xyz/inves​tor/stati​c/ ogy infrastructure would not support an online-only mode.1
pdf/2020Q​2_alpha​bet_earni​ngs_relea​se.pdf?cache​=a881c​ Within the U.S., at the peak, at least 124,000 public and
38), “We’re working to help people, businesses and commu- private schools and 55.1 million students were affected by
nities in these uncertain times.” He also noted, “As people coronavirus crisis-related K-12 school closures (Education
increasingly turn to online services, our platforms—from Week 2020). The US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse sur-
Cloud to Google Play to YouTube—are helping our partners vey provides additional information on the shift to online
provide important services and support their businesses.” learning. In Wave 1 data (https​://www2.censu​s.gov/progr​
Evidence of the acceleration of digital transformation ams-surve​ys/demo/techn​i cal-docum​e ntat​i on/hhp/house​
falls into many areas. In this paper, I will mainly focus on hold-pulse​-surve​y-quest​ionna​ire-week1​-5.pdf), collected
learning, working and other activities that have abruptly between April 23 and May 5, a vanishingly small proportion
shifted from in-person to home and other remote locations. of households reported no change in how children received
After taking a deeper look into this acceleration, I will illus- an education (Table 1).2 Overall, about 72% of households
trate how the technology sector has responded. with children enrolled in a private or public school reported
a shift to online education. About 22% reported a move to
2.1 Learning from home paper for remote learning.3

With school closures around the world, remote learning has 1

 The World Bank provides a wealth of information on distance
swiftly become the primary mode of education for many learning using various modalities, as well as examples of which dif-
students. UNESCO (United Nations 2020) reported that on ferent countries around the world have implemented remote learning.
May 1, 2020, 174 nations had school (including primary, One example of the information is at https​://www.world​bank.org/en/
topic​/edute​ch/brief​/edtec​h-covid​-19.
secondary and tertiary) closures, affecting 1.2 billion learn- 2
 The question referred to here is: “How has the coronavirus pan-
ers. Schools in another 17 countries were only partially
demic affected how the children in this household received educa-
open. Methods of continuing education for students have tion? Select all that apply.” With selected choice, “There was no
varied, but a UNESCO (2020) survey reported that more change because schools did not close.”
than half of educational systems globally used some form 3
 The question referred to here is: “How has the coronavirus pan-
of online learning, such as an existing national online learn- demic affected how the children in this household received educa-
tion? Select all that apply.” With selected choices, “Pandemic impact
ing platform, new national online portals or other online
on education-Classes normally taught in person moved to a distance-
The coronavirus crisis and the technology sector 255

Table 2  US work-from-home pre-coronavirus crisis, by industry Source: https​://www.bls.gov/news.relea​se/pdf/flex2​.pdf, accessed September 2,

2020
Job flexibilities and work schedules—2017 to 2018
American Time Use Survey
Total workforce Selected industries
Millions of Percent Financial activities Education and health Leisure and hospitality
workers services
Millions of Percent Millions of Percent Millions of Percent
workers workers workers

Could work from home 42 29 6 57 10 26 1 9

Did work from home 36 25 5 47 9 24 1 7
Total workers 144 10 37 13

Table 3  US work-from-home pre-coronavirus crisis, by income group Source: www.bls.gov/news.relea​se/pdf/flex2​.pdf, accessed September 2,
2020
Job flexibilities and work schedules—2017 to 2018
American Time Use Survey
Usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers (single jobholders only)
Earnings <= 25th percentile Earnings from 25th to 50th Earnings from 50th to 75th Earnings greater than
percentiles percentiles 75th percentile
Millions of Percent Millions of Percent Millions of Percent Millions of Percent
workers workers workers workers

Could work from home 2 9 5 20 10 37 17 61

Did work from home 2 7 4 16 9 32 15 56
Total workers 25 27 27 27

Thus, the pandemic has created an immense shift in learn- Table 4  UK work-from-home pre-coronavirus crisis Source: https​://
ing models from in-person to remote learning, with technol- www.ons.gov.uk/emplo​yment​andla​bourm​arket​/peopl​einwo​rk/emplo​
yment​andem​ploye​etype​s/artic​les/coron​aviru​sandh​omewo​rking​inthe​
ogy as the tool critical to education for many students and
uklab​ourma​rket/2019, accessed September 2, 2020
teachers.
UK Annual Population Survey (APS) January to December 2019
2.2 Working from home Total Workforce
Milllions of Percent
In addition to the shift to learning from home, a parallel shift Workers
to working from home occurred.
To start, we must illuminate the fact that only certain Mainly work—own home 1.7 5
types of jobs are feasibly done remotely. There are essen- Work at home in the week prior to interview 4.0 12
tially two ways to measure working from home. One is Ever work at home 8.7 27
through survey evidence of either individuals or of firms. Mainly work—same grounds or buildings or 2.9 9
home as base
The second is by understanding the content of work, and
Total workers 32.6

whether or not the work could be done from home, together

Footnote 3 (continued)
with an evaluation of employment patterns.
learning format using online resources, either self-paced or in real
time” and “Classes normally taught in person moved to a distance- Tables 2, 3, and 4 show survey evidence on the percent-
learning format using paper materials sent home to children.” age of people working from home prior to the pandemic. At
 C. Evans
256

Luxembourg
Switzerland
Sweden
United Kingdom
Belgium
Norway
Iceland
Malta
United States
Netherlands
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
Ireland
Slovenia
France
Cyprus
Germany
Austria
Maldives
Latvia
Lithuania
Italy
Russian Federation
Poland
Portugal
Palau
Czechia
Montenegro
Croatia
Greece
Spain
Hungary
Seychelles
Slovakia
Bulgaria
United Arab Emirates
Egypt
Uruguay
Samoa
Mauritius
Tonga
Philippines
Chile
Brazil
Serbia
Panama
Mongolia
North Macedonia
Georgia
Fiji
Turkey
Mexico
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Romania
Kiribati
Sri Lanka
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Dominican Republic
Eswatini
Guyana
Zambia
Belize
Thailand
Nepal
Kyrgyzstan
El Salvador
Togo
Niger
Ghana
Bolivia
Ecuador
Honduras
Guatemala
Pakistan
Cote d'Ivoire
Uganda
Liberia
Bangladesh
Afghanistan
Cambodia
Rwanda
Myanmar
Sierra Leone
Madagascar
Mozambique
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6

Fig. 1  Share of jobs that can be done at home Source: Dingel and Neiman 2020

that time, as shown in Table 2, about 29% of workers in the across countries, using the estimates of Dingel and Neiman
U.S could work from home, and about 25% did. Not surpris- (2020; data available at https​://githu​b.com/jding​el/Dinge​
ingly, there was variation across industries, with financial lNeima​ n-workat​ home/​ blob/master​ /countr​ y_correl​ ates/​ outpu​
activities at the high end and leisure and hospitality at the t/countr​ y_workat​ home.​ csv). That share ranges from a low of
low end. The incidence of the ability to work from home also 5% in Mozambique, to a high of 53% in Luxembourg, with a
varied across income groups (Table 3). In the lowest quar- positive correlation between per capita income and the share
tile, only 9% of workers could potentially work from home of jobs that can be done at home. The reported share for the
versus 61% in the highest quartile. In the UK (Table 4), the USA was 42%. Brussevich et al. (2020) also construct meas-
share of workers who ever work at home was 27%. ures of “teleworkability” across countries, types of workers
In terms of the other way of measuring work from and occupations, finding a high degree of variation across
home—by type of work and employment by occupation— all of these elements, with teleworkability increasing with
Fig. 1 shows the potential for employees to work from home GDP per capita and educational attainment.
The coronavirus crisis and the technology sector 257

Table 5  Kaiser family foundation coronavirus March 2020 poll Source: Hamel et al. (2020)
Total employed Household income
<  $40 K $40 to < $90 K $90 K+

Percent who say if required to remain at home because of a quarantine or school or work 45% 29% 42% 63%
closure, they could do at least part of their job from home

Fig. 2  Online shopping Source: Electronic Shopping and Mail Order Share of Total US Retail and Food Services
U.S. Census Bureau 18%
16%
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
January-05

January-10

January-15

January-20
June-05

November-15

August-19
November-05

August-09

June-10
November-10

February-12
July-12
May-08

December-12

August-14

June-15
May-13

May-18

June-20
March-09

March-14

March-19
October-08

October-13

October-18
April-11
February-07
July-07
December-07

February-17
July-17
December-17
April-06

April-16
September-11
September-06

September-16
Despite the fact that not all jobs can be done remotely, the For example, telehealth has grown during the pandemic.4
coronavirus pandemic has greatly impacted work patterns in In 2018, the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker found
many economies. Surveys provide some evidence on the size that 2.4% of adults enrolled in large employer health plans
of this impact in terms of the numbers of people who have had used a telehealth service (Rae et al. 2020). In contrast, a
shifted to working from home in the U.S. due to government survey conducted in April 2020 found that nearly 25% of the
mandates and shutdowns. Table 5 shows survey results from U.S. population had experienced telehealth (https​://morni​
mid-March highlighting the effect of the pandemic on work- ngcons​ ult.com/wp-conten​ t/upload​ s/2020/05/200410​ 0_cross​
ers and employees. About 45% of respondents in the U.S. tabs_CONTE​NT_CORON​AVIRU​S_Adult​s_v2_RG.pdf).
replied that they could do at least part of their job from home According to FAIR Health, the share of medical claim lines
if needed to because of a school or work closure. Of course, for telehealth increased from 0.15% in May 2019 to 8.69% in
there are limitations to comparability, but more respondents May 2020 (https:​ //s3.amazon​ aws.com/media2​ .fairhe​ alth.​ org/
stated that they could work from home in this mid-March infog​raphi​c/teleh​ealth​/may-2020-natio​nal-teleh​ealth​.pdf).
snapshot than in the survey results provided in Table 2. This Also in the U.S., Medicare primary care visits conducted
45% prevalence is also fairly close to the potential number via telehealth soared from 0.1% in February 2020 to 43.5%
of jobs that could be done remotely, provided by Dingel and in April 2020 (Bosworth et al. 2020). In China, JD Health
Neiman (2020),and shown in Fig. 1. has seen a large increase in the use of telehealth during the
Brynjolfsson et al. (2020) provide additional and more coronavirus crisis (Augenstein 2020). Thus, as with learn-
direct evidence of the magnitude of the movement to remote ing and working from home, seeking and receiving medical
work. Surveys conducted in early April and early May attention from home grew during the pandemic.
found that about 35% of those working prior to COVID-19 The share of retail sales conducted via online shopping
switched to remote work, while another 15% had already and mail order also grew strongly in March, rising to 13.5%
been working remotely, implying that about half of the U.S. from 11.7% the previous month (Fig. 2). In April, the share
workforce was working remotely in the early stages of the then shot up to 17.8%. Although this share has since come
crisis—a jump between pre- and mid-pandemic. back down, as of June it remained higher than in any month
prior to April 2020.
2.3 Other activities from home

A variety of other activities and services, including health-

4
care, shopping and entertainment, have moved from in per-  Also, an important note—in the United States, during the pan-
son to remote or virtual. demic, a range of policy changes have made the provision of services
via telemedicine easier and more reimbursable, in some cases, sug-
gesting that policy will be an important aspect of the sustainability
of these trends. See Weigel et al. (2020) for a discussion of this topic.
 C. Evans
258

60

50

40

30

20

10

Notebook Consumer Notebook Educaon Notebook Government Notebook SMB Notebook Large and Very Large Business

Fig. 3  IDC: worldwide notebook unit shipments (millions of units) Source: IDC Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker—PCD Final
Historical 2020Q2

30

25

20

15

10

5
Q2
Q2

Q3
Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q3

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4
Q1

Q4

Q1

Q2
Q4

18
17

17
15

15

15

15

16

16

16

16

17

18

19

19

19

19
18

18

20

20
17

20
20

20
20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20
20

20

20

20
20

Desktop Consumer Desktop Education Desktop Government Desktop SMB Desktop Large and Very Large Business

Fig. 4  IDC: worldwide desktop unit shipments (millions of units) Source: IDC Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker—PCD Final His-
torical 2020Q2

In the entertainment category, Netflix paid memberships to data from IDC, shipments of notebooks rose almost 34%
across all regions increased 27% year over year (YoY) in the from the previous year, whereas shipments of desktop com-
second quarter, compared to 22% YoY in 2019Q2. In the puters fell (Fig. 4). This distinction between the two “form
U.S. and Canada, 2020 Q2 paid memberships were up 10% factors” is part of a broader movement observed in recent
YoY, in comparison to 7% for 2019 Q2 (https​://s22.q4cdn​ years of “notebook conversion.” Examining the share of
.com/959853​ 165/files/​ doc_financ​ ials/​ 2020/q2/Q2’20-Websi​ notebooks in total PC shipments over the last 5 years or so
te-Finan​cials​.xlsx). shows that there has been a slow shift (about 1% per year)
toward notebook shipments. In the second quarter of this
2.4 IT sector implications and response year, however, there was an abrupt change, in which the
share of notebooks in total PC shipments was 76%, whereas
This acceleration in digital transformation has led to large the average for 2019 was 65%. To the extent that the work-
increases in demand for technology products and services. from-home and learn-from-home movements favor mobility,
The tech sector has responded by providing the tools needed these shifts could be causal factors.
for technology infrastructure, both through traditional chan- Although all segments grew strongly within notebooks,
nels and via charitable and other contributions. growth was especially robust in the education and consumer
For example, unit shipments of notebook computers sectors. This strong growth was a shift particularly for the
soared in the second quarter of 2020 (Fig. 3). According consumer sector. In 2019, consumer PC shipments fell from
The coronavirus crisis and the technology sector 259

Zoom Performance Metrics May and July, the number of customers with more than 10
700000 employees was up 458% YoY, hitting 370,200 (Fig. 5).5
600000 In addition to ensuring infrastructure availability for
500000 purchase, the technology sector has supported this mas-
400000
sive digital transformation via charitable contributions.
300000
200000
For example, Microsoft has made Microsoft Teams, which
100000 facilitates remote work and learning, free for a variety of
0 groups, including schools and nonprofits.6 Microsoft has
May 18- Aug 18 Nov 18- Feb 19- May 19- Aug 19- Nov 19- Feb 20- May 20-
Jul 18 - Oct 18 Jan 19 Apr 19 July 19 Oct 19 Jan 20 Apr 20 Jul 20 also partnered with UNICEF to accelerate expansion of a
Zoom Revenue (in thousands) digital learning platform7 and increased support for non-
Zoom Customers With More than 10 Employees profits.8 Intel, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Career
Launcher partnered to create an online learning platform,
Fig. 5  Zoom performance metrics Project Aspiration 2020, to support online learning in India
(https​://www.intel​.com/conte​nt/www/us/en/corpo​rate-respo​
nsibi​lity/covid​-19-aws-caree​r-launc​her-artic​le.html). CDW-
the previous year, whereas in Q2, they grew 35% YoY. The G, Intel, Lego Education and First Book launched the Cre-
strength in consumer and education, in particular, is not sur- ating Learning Connections Initiative, intended to support
prising, as it happened with the huge shift to remote learning remote learning for underserved students and educators in
described above. Purchases for education often show up in the U.S.9 Amazon has assisted small businesses by providing
the consumer numbers, so part of that strength is likely com- some free access to business tools and cloud computing ser-
ing from the learning-from-home trend. vices (https​://s2.q4cdn​.com/29928​7126/files​/doc_finan​cials​
Thus, the massive shift to remote working and learning /2020/Q1/AMZN-Q1-2020-Earni​ngs-Relea​se.pdf).
has led to a large increase in demand for computers. Ship-
ment numbers for PCs bear this trend out. 2.5 Summary
In addition to higher demand for PCs, there has been a
large increase in demand for cloud computing and digital The COVID-19 pandemic propelled the shift toward vir-
services. Data on network traffic reflects this higher level of tual activities throughout the economy, and the technology
demand. On May 1, 2020, for example, AT&T’s core net-
work traffic, which reflects business, home broadband and
wireless usage, was up 22% compared to a similar day of 5
 Information gathered from Zoom financial reporting forms: 10Q
the week pre-COVID (https​://about​.att.com/pages​/COVID​ for period ending April 30, 2020: https​://sec.repor​t/Docum​ent/00015​
85521​-20-00015​4/#i752a​d573f​a5e45​48984​0543f​7ec56​fbb_79; 10  K
-19/netwo​rk_archi​ves.html). AT&T’s Wi-Fi calling minutes for fiscal year ending January 31, 2020: https​://sec.repor​t/Docum​
were up 73%. These higher usage patterns had been evident ent/00015​ 8 5521​ - 20-00009​ 5 /#id55b​ d 482f​ 0 f141​ 5 a875​ 3 3af0​ 8 09c6​
since the end of March and were generally particularly true e25_1144; 8  K for period ending July 31, 2020: https​://sec.repor​t/
on certain weekdays, as opposed to weekends, suggesting Docum​ent/00015​85521​-20-00023​1/; 8  K for period ending October
31, 2019: https​://inves​tors.zoom.us/stati​c-files​/d260c​2e2-6ca1-42c5-
that learning from home and working from home could be a90d-0180d​7e0a9​5f; 10Q for period ending April 30,2019: https​://
causal factors. As another data point, OpenVault reported inves​tors.zoom.us/stati​c-files​/1eef0​edd-78b6-449e-89dc-2d6b0​68c9b​
average broadband usage during business hours very roughly 89; 10Q for period ending July 31, 2019: https​://inves​tors.zoom.us/
20% higher post COVID-19 (https:​ //openva​ ult.com/truste​ d/). stati​c-files​/cbb54​248-55ea-4b58-acb9-690a9​5b873​87; 10Q for period
ending October 31, 2019: https​://inves​tors.zoom.us/stati​c-files​/51bf4​
Plume also provides information on online activity from 756-ebac-44a5-964e-4a7c3​0dc63​d2. All accessed September 2, 2020.
homes. Based on data from Wi-Fi services within homes, 6
  https​://www.micro​soft.com/en-us/micro​soft-365/micro​soft-teams​
they observed that people were much more active online /free?&OCID=AID20 ​ 0 0955 ​ _ SEM_Xe7cU​A AAAH ​ n JziP​ d :20200​
during the workday after the start of the pandemic than they 22822​1128:s&msclk​id=54b05​2bc6b​1f119​cd58f​0ce5f​b1275​5d&ef_
were before. The number of people active online increased id=Xe7cU​AAAAH​nJziP​d:20200​22822​1128:s#coreu​i-conte​ntric​hbloc​
k-yxuv2​bc, accessed September 3, 2020.
by almost 100% between the end of January and late March 7
  https​://news.micro​soft.com/2020/04/19/unice​f-and-micro​soft-launc​
(Engebretson 2020). As of August 28, 2020, it was still up h-globa​l-learn​ing-platf​orm-to-help-addre​ss-covid​-19-educa​tion-crisi​
in comparison to pre-COVID, but by a somewhat lower 75% s/, accessed September 3, 2020.
(https​://disco​ver.plume​.com/wfh-dashb​oard). 8
  https​://blogs​.micro​soft.com/on-the-issue​s/2020/04/13/tech-for-socia​
As for digital services, as one example, the Zoom plat- l-impac​t-covid​-19-azure​/, accessed September 3, 2020.
9
form for remote meetings uses the number of customers with   https​://newsr​oom.intel​.com/news/intel​-initi​ative​-help-stude​nts-
more than 10 employees as a performance metric. Growth schoo​l-distr​icts-overc​ome-covid​-19/#gs.cwt46​2, accessed September
3, 2020.; https​://first​book.org/wp-conte​nt/uploa​ds/2020/08/Creat​ing-
has been strong generally in recent years, but between Learn​ing-Conne​ction​s-Initi​ative​_Press​-Relea​se_FINAL​-8.11-8.7.20-
002.pdf, accessed September 3, 2020.
 C. Evans
260

Table 6  Share in US household personal consumption expenditures of select products Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Jan-20 (%) Apr-20 (%) Jul-20 (%) Change in share Jan
‘20 to Jul ‘20 (%)

Personal computers/tablets and peripheral equipment 0.40 0.51 0.51 28.38

Computer software and accessories 0.72 0.87 0.88 23.40
Video streaming and rental 0.17 0.22 0.19 14.21
Personal care products 1.00 1.15 1.08 8.73
Telephone and related communication equipment 0.21 0.17 0.23 7.01
Cellular telephone services 0.93 1.14 0.97 4.10
Internet access 0.53 0.67 0.55 4.07
Clothing and footwear 2.81 1.84 2.73 − 2.89
Outpatient services 8.00 6.26 7.67 − 4.12
Purchased meals and beverages 5.83 3.87 5.19 − 11.00
Motor vehicle rental 0.15 0.08 0.09 − 40.69
Public transportation 1.28 0.15 0.63 − 50.40
Hotels and motels 0.83 0.18 0.39 − 52.69
Personal care services 1.15 0.17 0.34 − 70.09
Motion picture theaters 0.09 0.00 0.00 − 97.80
Spectator sports 0.21 0.00 0.00 − 99.90

Calculations exclude expenditures of nonprofit institutions serving households (NPISHs) from total household personal consumption expendi-
tures

sector has been stepping up to meet the higher demand for PCs/tablets and peripheral equipment soared to the highest
the required goods and services. As such, the pandemic in the data history, exceeding even the levels reached during
served to accelerate a digital transformation that was already the tech bubble of the late 1990s (Fig. 6).
underway. These consumption data also provide indirect evidence of
a shift in modalities. For example, while expenditures and
the share of spending going to motion picture theaters plum-
3 Increased importance of technology meted, expenditures on video streaming and rental services
in economy and society rose by 27% between January and July, with the share of
expenditures rising by 14%.
Commensurate with the massive increase in demand for
technology products and services, the technology sector 3.2 Corporate performance and valuation
has taken on an increasingly important role throughout the
economy and society. Data on the corporate sector also illustrate the increasing
importance of technology, both as a way of operating very
3.1 Consumer spending broadly and as an overall sector.
A shift in modality is evident within individual firms,
As a first cut, data on the distribution of consumption where the ability to conduct business online contributed
expenditures provide telling evidence (Table 6). U.S. data strongly to quarterly performance. As one example, Target
on household personal consumption expenditures show that Corporation’s 2020 Q1 comparable sales grew 10.8% YoY,
the share of household consumer expenditures going to PCs/ with digital comparable sales expanding by 141%, contrib-
tablets and peripheral equipment, and computer software and uting 9.9 percentage points to overall comparable growth
accessories increased rapidly, by 28% and 23%, respectively, (https​://inves​tors.targe​t.com/stati​c-files​/4b62d​3d9-0ab6-
between January 2020 and July 2020. At the same time, the 49ee-80bd-cb04b​419cc​fb). In 2020 Q2, comparable sales
share of expenditure going to a range of categories, such as grew 10.9% YoY, with digital comparable sales growing
spectator sports, movie theaters and personal care services, 195%, contributing 13.4 percentage points to the overall
plummeted, as services around the country shut down, per- number (https​: //inves​t ors.targe​t .com/stati​c -files​/ 371fa​
haps making funds available for purchases more suited to aa7-ce10-40e1-a1e1-c07c9​5f3ed​fb). Levi Strauss & Co
the work-from-home and learn-from-home transformations pointed to the importance of the ability to shift to digi-
described above. In fact, the share of expenditures going to tal channels in its earnings release for the quarter ending
The coronavirus crisis and the technology sector 261

Share of PCs and Software Products in US Household Personal Consumptionn Expenditures

1.40%

1.20%

1.00%

0.80%

0.60%

0.40%

0.20%

0.00%

JUL 2002

JAN 2006
JAN 1985

JUL 1988

JAN 1992

JUL 1995

JAN 1999

JAN 2020
SEP 1989

SEP 2003

MAR 2007

JUL 2009

SEP 2010
MAR 1986

SEP 1996

JUL 2016

SEP 2017
MAR 1993

MAR 2000

JAN 2013

MAR 2014
OCT 1986

OCT 1993

OCT 2000

OCT 2007

OCT 2014
MAY 1987

FEB 1989

APR 1990

MAY 2001

FEB 2003

APR 2004
NOV 2004
JUN 2005

MAY 2008
DEC 2008

FEB 2010

APR 2011
NOV 2011
JUN 2012

MAY 2015

FEB 2017

APR 2018
DEC 1987

NOV 1990
JUN 1991

MAY 1994
DEC 1994

FEB 1996

APR 1997
NOV 1997
JUN 1998

DEC 2001

DEC 2015

NOV 2018
JUN 2019
AUG 2006
AUG 1985

AUG 1992

AUG 1999

AUG 2013
Personal computers/tablets and peripheral equipment Computer software and accessoories

Sourse: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

Note: Calculations exclude expenditures of nonprofit institutions serving households (NPISHs) frrom total household personal consumption expenditures.

Fig. 6  PCs/tablets and peripheral equipment and software in U.S. consumer spending. Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Note Calcula-
tions exclude expenditures of nonprofit institutions serving households (NPISHs) from total household personal consumption expenditures

May 24, 2020, their second quarter for 2020. Chip Bergh, ncy=M&force​_downl​oad=true&hostI​denti​fier=48190​c8c-
Levi Strauss president and chief executive officer, stated, 42c4-46af-8d1a-0cd5d​b8947​97&index​Id=340).
“the pandemic is accelerating retail landscape shifts and
consumer behavior in ways that play to the strength of the 3.3 Technology to address pandemic implications
Levi’s brand. And we are doubling down on our digital
transformation, incorporating the power of AI and data In addition to technology products and services playing a
science and leveraging our iconic brands to have an even larger role in more traditional ways, they also contributed
stronger focus on Gen Z and sustainability. We believe to understanding and getting through the pandemic, in new
this will enable us to further grow our market leadership and unique ways.
position and emerge from this crisis a stronger company” For example, mobility data have taken on higher promi-
(https​: //s23.q4cdn​. com/17269​2 177/files​/ doc_finan​c ials​ nence in at least two ways. First, economists have increas-
/2020/q2/Exhib​i t-99.1-2Q-2020-Press​- Relea​s e-FINAL​ ingly used data on mobility to understand the effect of the
.pdf). Whereas net revenues for the company fell 62% pandemic on the economy. As one example, the Dallas Fed
YoY, e-commerce grew 25%. The share of e-commerce in Mobility and Engagement Index combines several measures
total net revenues grew from 5% in the second quarter of of mobility taken from mobile devices and constructs an
the previous year to 15% in this most recent quarter. index available at the MSA, county and state level (https​
The results for both firms illustrate the shift to digital ://www.dalla​s fed.org/resea​r ch/mei.aspx). The mobility
commerce that boosted performance during the pandemic trends appear to track with changes in policy, as well as
and that was enabled by technology tools and products. with COVID-19-case trends.
More broadly, the shift in the composition of the S&P Second, mobility data have become a tool available for
500 index shows the increasing relevance of the technology tracing and contacting those potentially exposed to COVID-
sector brought about during the pandemic. The share in the 19 cases. For example, Google and Apple announced the
IT sector grew by nearly 24% between the end of 2019 and creation of a joint effort to create an “Exposure Notification”
the end of August 2020. In contrast, the share in energy system that would continue to preserve privacy (https:​ //covid​
fell by 47% and in financials by 26% (https​://www.spglo​ 19.apple​.com/conta​cttra​cing). As another example, South
bal.com/spdji​/en/idsen​hance​dfact​sheet​/file.pdf?calcF​reque​ Korea uses mobility data, along with transaction data and
 C. Evans
262

camera footage to enable the collection of data for tracing households with children reported a shift to online educa-
and limiting the spread of the coronavirus (Fendos 2020). tion. About 22% reported a move to paper for remote learn-
Within the medical arena specifically, the COVID-19 ing. Within the modality data, households with incomes
High Performance Computing Consortium partners the above $150,000 reported moving to online education
federal government, academia and industry to provide to a greater degree than households with incomes below
high-performance computing to support COVID-19-related $35,000, 85% versus 59%.11
research. Industry members include IBM, Amazon Web One relevant question in the survey relates to the avail-
Services, AMD, BP, D. E. Shaw Research, Dell Technolo- ability of a computer within the household for educational
gies, Google Cloud, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Microsoft, use.12 Table 7 splits the possible responses into one group
NVIDIA and Intel (https​://covid​19-hpc-conso​r tium​.org/). where the computer is always or usually available and
The XPRIZE Pandemic Alliance shares ideas and resources another where a computer is sometimes, rarely, or never
related to COVID-19, with a key piece being data sharing available. The data show that there are stark differences
and analysis via ML and AI. Technology-company partners across income levels. Whereas 97% of households with
include IBM, Intel and Nvidia (https​://covid​19.xpriz​e.org/ incomes $150,000 and above always or usually have a com-
fight​-covid​19#overv​iew). puter available, only 77% of households with incomes below
$35,000 do. Similarly, in Table 8, the 98% of households
3.4 Summary with incomes $150,000 and above with internet available
for education always or usually available contrasts with the
To conclude, the technology sector has taken on a larger 83% of households with incomes below $35,000.
role in the wake of the pandemic, from occupying a larger As additional evidence, Pew conducted a survey in
share of the consumer wallet to enabling more traditional early April and found that only about 13% of Americans
brick-and-mortar firms to maintain business to contributing at that time considered the internet not very or not at all
more directly to understanding the effects of and confronting important during the pandemic, ranging from 8% for upper-
the pandemic. income households to 15% for lower-income ones (https​://
www.pewre​searc​h.org/inter ​net/wp-conte​nt/uploa​ds/sites​
/9/2020/04/PI_2020.04.30_COVID-​ intern​ et_REPORT ​ .pdf).
4 Prevalence of inequalities in access However, among those lower-income households with stu-
to and the use of technology dents whose schools were closed, many expressed concerns
about the digital divide facing their children in doing school-
This acceleration in digital transformation brings to light the work. Of those, 43% thought that it was very or somewhat
inequities both within and across countries and highlights likely that the child would have to do schoolwork by smart-
the critical importance of the digital divide. To put it suc- phone, 40% that public Wi-Fi would be needed due to unre-
cinctly, not everyone has been able to participate equally in liable internet at home and 36% that schoolwork could not
the changes enabled by technology during the pandemic— be completed due to no access to a computer at home. The
changes that may exacerbate the already-existing digital fractions for upper-income households were 10%, 6% and
divide. 4%, respectively.

4.1 Learning from Home

The movement to learning from home has highlighted very

Footnote 10 (continued)
starkly the impact of digital inequities. Within the U.S., the
household received education? Select all that apply.” With selected
Household Pulse survey provides a wealth of information, choice, “There was no change because schools did not close.”
coupling information on changes to educational models with 11
  https​ : //www2.censu​ s .gov/progr​ a ms-surve​ ys/demo/techn ​ i cal-
demographic data, such as income. As mentioned above, docum​entat​ion/hhp/house​hold-pulse​-surve​y-quest​ionna​ire-week1​
nearly all households with children of school age reported -5.pdf, accessed September 2, 2020. The question referred to here is:
a change in the modality of education in Wave 1 data, col- “How has the coronavirus pandemic affected how the children in this
household received education? Select all that apply.” With selected
lected between April 23 and May 5, with very similar rates choices, “Pandemic impact on education-Classes normally taught in
across income groups (Table 1).10 Overall, about 72% of person moved to a distance-learning format using online resources,
either self-paced or in real time” and “Classes normally taught in per-
10
  https ​ : //www2.censu ​ s .gov/progr ​ a ms-surve​ ys/demo/techn​ i cal- son moved to a distance-learning format using paper materials sent
docum​entat​ion/hhp/house​hold-pulse​-surve​y-quest​ionna​ire-week1​ home to children.”
-5.pdf, accessed September 2, 2020. The question referred to here is: 12
  The question referred to here is: “How often is a computer or other
“How has the coronavirus pandemic affected how the children in this digital device available to children for educational purposes? Select
only one answer.”
The coronavirus crisis and the technology sector 263

Table 7  Access to a computer US Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey (Wave 1)

for education
All results for households with children enrolled in private or public school:
Proportions responding Household income groups Total
≤ $34,999 House- Household income between ≥ $150,000
hold Income $35,000 and $149,000 household income

Computer available for education

 Sometimes/rarely/never 0.23 0.10 0.03 0.12
 Always/usually 0.77 0.90 0.97 0.88
Of those for whom computer always, usually, sometimes, or rarely available
 Computer provided by family
Yes 0.60 0.73 0.84 0.71
No 0.40 0.27 0.16 0.29
Computer provided by school
 Yes 0.45 0.39 0.30 0.39
 No 0.55 0.61 0.70 0.61

The Household Pulse Survey data provide eight income groupings, which have been collected into the
groups above. The $34,999 and below group constitutes about 27% of the sample of families with chil-
dren enrolled in public or private school, the $35,000 to $149,999 group about 58%, and the $150,000 and
above group about 15%

Table 8  Access to the internet US Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey (Wave 1)

for education
All results for households with children enrolled in private or public school:
Household income groups Total
≤  $34,999 Household income between ≥ $150,000
household income $35,000 and $149,000 household income

Internet available for education

 Sometimes/rarely/never 0.17 0.07 0.02 0.09
 Always/usually 0.83 0.93 0.98 0.91
Of those for whom internet always, usually, sometimes, or rarely available
 Internet provided by family
Yes 0.93 0.98 0.99 0.97
No 0.07 0.02 0.01 0.03
 Internet provided by school
 Yes 0.04 0.01 0.00 0.02
 No 0.96 0.99 1.00 0.98

The Household Pulse Survey data provide eight income groupings, which have been collected into the
groups above. The $34,999 and below group constitutes about 27% of the sample of families with chil-
dren enrolled in public or private school, the $35,000 to $149,999 group about 58%, and the $150,000 and
above group about 15%

Comparisons across countries provide even starker dif- Norway and Poland, almost all students have a computer at
ferences.13 In some countries, such as Denmark, Slovenia, home that they can use for schoolwork. In Indonesia, though,
only 34% do. Other countries with less than 50% of students
having access include the Philippines and Morocco (OECD
2020).
13
  The World Bank provides a range of information on remote learn- Access to the internet is also important for remote learning.
ing and Ed Tech at https​://www.world​bank.org/en/topic​/edute​ch/brief​ The percent of students with access to the internet at home
/edtec​h-covid​-19. There is a discussion on China’s response at https​://
en.unesc​o.org/news/how-china​-ensur​ing-learn​ing-when-class​es-are- ranges from near-universal in countries such as Denmark and
disru​pted-coron​aviru​s. Also see Basto-Aguirre et al. (2020).
 C. Evans
264

Finland to less than 60% in countries such as Indonesia, the Table 9  Internet access Source: https​://unsta​ts.un.org/sdgs/indic​ators​/
Philippines and Peru (OECD 2020). datab​ase/, accessed August 26, 2020
On both measures, access to a computer and access to the Internet users per 100 people
internet, there is a range within countries as well, depending
Geographic area Value (2018)
on the socio-economic status of the students. For example,
access to a computer for schoolwork ranges from 7% to 94% World 51
within Peru and 22% to 93% in Brazil (Marinelli et al. 2020). Algeria 49
In addition, teachers do not always have the skills to incorpo- Azerbaijan 80
rate digital devices in teaching (Basto-Aguirre et al. 2020). Southern Asia 33
Austria 87
4.2 Work from home and other activities Bahrain 99
Belgium 89
As discussed above, certain jobs are not even feasibly done Central and Southern Asia 34
remotely, and the prevalence of the ability to do so varied Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 44
across income groups both pre- and mid-pandemic. In pre- Bosnia and Herzegovina 70
pandemic evidence, whereas in the lowest quartile of workers Brazil 70
in the U.S., only 9% of workers could potentially work from Bulgaria 65
home, in the highest quartile, 61% could (Table 3). The March Belarus 79
2020 poll mentioned earlier also shows disparities across Cambodia 40
income groups (Table  5). As for cross-country evidence, Europe 82
both Dingel and Neiman (2020) and Brussevich et al. (2020) Colombia 64
found a positive relationship between country-level per capita Costa Rica 74
income and the ability to work from home. Croatia 75
In addition to the nature of work, access to technology is Cyprus 84
also important for working from home, as well as doing other Czechia 81
activities remotely. Evidence suggests a wide degree of dis- Denmark 97
parity across groups within countries and across countries. Dominican Republic 75
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) data for 2018- Estonia 89
19 (https​://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Stati​stics​/Pages​/stat/defau​ Finland 89
lt.aspx) show that the percent of households with a PC ranges France 82
widely across countries. While some countries, such as Ger- Georgia 63
many and the U.S., have rates around 90%, other countries State of Palestine 64
have much lower rates. Mobile phone access rates are gener- Germany 90
ally much higher, but, depending on the task, the PC may often Greece 73
be a better tool than a phone. Access to the internet also varies Haiti 32
widely, with UN data (https​://unsta​ts.un.org/sdgs/indic​ators​/ China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 91
datab​ase/) showing the number of people per 100 inhabitants Hungary 76
who use the internet ranging from 5 to 100 in 2018 (Table 9). Iceland 99
Indonesia 40
4.3 Summary Iran (Islamic Republic of) 70
Iraq 75
Such disparities in access to technology mean that the shift Ireland 85
toward remote learning, working and performing other activi- Israel 84
ties has impacted different groups very differently, with some Italy 74
much more likely to be left behind, often those who would Côte d’Ivoire 47
potentially have the most to gain from access to digital tools. Japan 91
Kazakhstan 79
Republic of Korea 96
5 Conclusion Kuwait 100
Latvia 84
The coronavirus pandemic has changed the ways people Lithuania 80
interact and economies function by impelling populations Luxembourg 97
to reduce their direct, in-person interactions with others, a China, Macao Special Administrative Region 84
The coronavirus crisis and the technology sector 265

Table 9  (continued) needed in this new more digital age are made available to
Internet users per 100 people the widest set of people possible.
Geographic area Value (2018)

Malaysia 81
Malta 82
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