As a labor economist, I explore the various forces that shape modern employment dynamics through a combination of focused academic research and broad industry analysis. During my PhD at MIT, I extensively studied the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on knowledge work, delving deeply into how AI reshapes productivity in both writing and other creative tasks. Now at Revelio Labs, I tackle a significantly wider range of labor economics issues—covering aspects from offshoring and emerging workforce trends to critical employee sentiment and leadership dynamics. Below, you will find a collection of talks I have given, a podcast in which I share my insights, along with my whitepapers, working papers, and published articles.

Selected Talks

Speaking at Stanford WIDS 2024

 

Podcast Appearance on the Radical AI Podcast

 

Whitepapers, Working Papers, & Publications

(1) Emma van Inwegen, Zanele Munyikwa, & John J. Horton. “Algorithmic Writing Assistance on Jobseekers’ Resumes Increases Hires.” Forthcoming in Management Science (NBER Working Paper), 2023.

- How AI boosts hiring outcomes for jobseekers.

- Link: https://www.nber.org/papers/w30886

(2) Andrew Chamberlain & Zanele Munyikwa. “What’s Culture Worth? Stock Performance of Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work 2009 to 2019.” Glassdoor Research, 2020.

- Links employee satisfaction to financial success.

- Link: https://www.glassdoor.com/research/stock-returns-bptw-2020/

(3) Rishi Bommasani, Drew A. Hudson, Ehsan Adeli, Erik Brynjolfsson, Zanele Munyikwa, et al. “On the Opportunities and Risks of Foundation Models” (Chapter: Economics). arXiv preprint, 2021.

- Assesses economic implications of large-scale AI.

- Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2108.07258

(4) Ben Waber & Zanele Munyikwa. “Did Work from Home Hurt the Video Game Industry?” Harvard Business Review (Digital Article), 2022.

- Analyzes remote work’s industry impact.

- Link: https://hbr.org/2021/08/did-wfh-hurt-the-video-game-industry

(5) Zanele Munyikwa & Erik Brynjolfsson. “Generative AI and Creative Work: The Case of Copywriting.” Working Paper, 2023.

- Explores AI’s role in creative professions.

(6) Zanele Munyikwa. “American Companies Are Offshoring High-Paying, Remote-Friendly Jobs.” Revelio Labs (Business), 2024.

- Examines offshoring trends at American Companies

- Link: https://www.reveliolabs.com/news/business/american-companies-are-offshoring-high-paying-remote-friendly-jobs

(7) Zanele Munyikwa. “2024 Workforce Insights Wrapped.” Revelio Labs (Social), 2024.

- Summarizes 2024 labor market trends.

- Link: https://www.reveliolabs.com/news/social/2024-workforce-insights-wrapped

(8) Zanele Munyikwa. “The Workforce Strategy Behind Nvidia’s Meteoric Rise to Dominance.” Revelio Labs (Tech), 2024.

- Details Nvidia’s talent-driven success.

- Link: https://www.reveliolabs.com/news/tech/the-workforce-strategy-behind-nvidias-meteoric-rise-to-dominance

(9) Zanele Munyikwa. “Too Old To Lead? CEO Age Is on the Rise.” Revelio Labs (Business), 2024.

- Explores aging trends in leadership.

- Link: https://www.reveliolabs.com/news/business/too-old-to-lead-ceo-age-is-on-the-rise

(10) Zanele Munyikwa. “Salaries in These Cities Make Up for the High Cost of Living.” Revelio Labs (Business), 2024.

- Identifies pay offsets for urban costs.

- Link: https://www.reveliolabs.com/news/business/salaries-in-these-cities-make-up-for-the-high-cost-of-living