Full metadata record
| DC Field | Value | Language |
|---|---|---|
| dc.contributor | Department of Management and Marketing | en_US |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Feng, Katherine (MM) | en_US |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Yao, Dai (MM) | en_US |
| dc.creator | Sun, Pengyao | - |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/14547 | - |
| dc.language | English | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Hong Kong Polytechnic University | en_US |
| dc.rights | All rights reserved | en_US |
| dc.title | Navigating the future workforce : the impact of generative AI on freelance occupations | en_US |
| dcterms.abstract | The rapid diffusion of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT is reshaping labor markets, raising concerns about job displacement, skill bias, and cross-occupational mobility. Using freelancer- and market-level transaction data from a leading global online freelancing platform and applying a Difference-in-Differences framework, this study investigates how the emergence of generative AI has affected demand across occupations. The results reveal a dual impact: writing-related work, particularly lower-value contracts, experienced significant declines in demand, while AI-related services and higher-value technology contracts expanded, reflecting both replacement and reinstatement effects. These patterns indicate a skill-biased impact of generative AI, with higher-skilled freelancers gaining access to more complex, higher-paying opportunities, while lower-skilled workers face shrinking demand. Further analysis shows that freelancers who explicitly integrate AI into their services consistently achieve higher earnings than non-adopters, underscoring the importance of adaptability in the new digital economy. Beyond within-occupation effects, the study identifies a cross-occupational dynamic: as generative AI lowers technical barriers, freelancers can reposition themselves in adjacent domains—such as writers transitioning into design-related work—demonstrating how absorptive capacity facilitates occupational mobility. Together, these findings contribute to research on skill-biased technological change and the future of work by showing how generative AI simultaneously displaces, reinstates, and redistributes opportunities, amplifying inequality while favouring skilled and adaptive freelancers. | en_US |
| dcterms.extent | 65 pages : color illustrations | en_US |
| dcterms.isPartOf | PolyU Electronic Theses | en_US |
| dcterms.issued | 2026 | en_US |
| dcterms.educationalLevel | M.Phil. | en_US |
| dcterms.educationalLevel | All Master | en_US |
| dcterms.LCSH | Self-employed -- Effect of technological innovations on | en_US |
| dcterms.LCSH | Artificial intelligence | en_US |
| dcterms.LCSH | Occupations -- Effect of technological innovations on | en_US |
| dcterms.LCSH | Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations | en_US |
| dcterms.accessRights | open access | en_US |
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