Knowledge barriers

Dwarkesh Patel raises the question of whether the lower pay for foreign remote workers compared to American remote workers suggests a lower productivity due to cultural barriers or other factors. In his conversation with Bryan Caplan, they discuss how remote work has surged during the COVID-19 pandemic and whether the market has equilibrated to this shift. Caplan notes that it might be harder to form a well-functioning team that has never met in person, suggesting in-person work as an investment for future cooperation in both remote and in-person settings. This conversation highlights the complexities and challenges in remote work and the potential barriers to achieving optimal productivity through remote employment structures 1.