The Political Economy of Digital Labour in Bangladesh and MEA: Comparative Perspectives on Platform Work and Precarity

Abstract The political economy of digital labor provides a critical lens to explore the restructuring of work and capital in the Global South. Bangladesh, recognized globally for its large online freelancing workforce, and the Middle East and Africa (MEA), known both as a traditional destination for Bangladeshi migrant labor and as an emerging hub of digital economies, together represent two significant nodes of transformation. This paper offers a comparative perspective on platform work and precarity in Bangladesh and MEA, focusing on the interplay between global platform capitalism, labor migration, and state policy. The analysis highlights how Bangladesh’s digital labor force emerges from a context historically reliant on migrant remittances, while MEA economies are experiencing rapid digitalization alongside entrenched informal labor structures. The comparative framework examines three dimensions: (1) the role of global digital platforms in shaping labor market precarity, (2) state regulation and governance of platform work in Bangladesh and MEA, and (3) the cross-border linkages between labor migration, remittances, and digital employment. Findings suggest that while digital labor platforms offer youth employment, women’s participation, and opportunities for transnational integration, they also reproduce vulnerabilities of informality, low wages, and lack of social protection. For both Bangladesh and MEA, the challenge lies in balancing opportunities for economic participation with the risks of deepening precarity under platform capitalism. By adopting a comparative political economy approach, this study contributes to debates on how the Global South negotiates digital labor transformations in a world increasingly shaped by technology, inequality, and migration.