~snip~
If we can assume that a large amount of the new remote-working due to CV19 will remain remote in the longer-term, then does this help to reduce inequality within societies? The situation applies to many countries, but taking the UK as an example, cost of living in London (and to an extent the wider SE) is considerably higher than in the rest of the country. So with no need for people working for 'London companies' to live within or in close proximity to London, will there be a population shift towards rural and cheaper areas, a sort of reverse brain-drain of people still working 'London jobs' but now living elsewhere in the country? And the other side of this, will it create new job opportunities for people in poorer areas? A young graduate in a poor northern town might previously have been limited in their job opportunities because of a desire to remain in the area (for social or other reasons)... but can now apply for and work a 'city centre' job without leaving the area?
And looking further, will this then, eventually, lead to greater equality of opportunity across the world, if all you need to work a 'London job' or a 'New York job' is an internet connection and the ability to speak the language?
To be fair, in a developed country setup, I would answer all your questions in the affirmative, with the assumption that even your most rural areas have fast internet connection and that the people there are more than capable to pay monthly internet fees, purchase all the necessary gadgets, and so on.
However, the picture is altogether different from where I am speaking. As a matter of fact, countless of rural areas here may mean absence of electricity, weak to no telecommunication services at all, much less internet access, poor living condition, and so on and so forth.
As a matter of fact, when the COVID-19 lockdown was implemented in this forsaken country and education was ordered to shift online, students end up travelling to nearby towns and climbed trees and hills to get a better signal only to submit class requirements. Moreover, properties, some as precious as pieces of tilled land, were pawned or sold to finance this inutile online class system.
My point being is that if there indeed is a kind of reverse shift from large city centers, it would highly be limited to nearby towns and suburbs. It might not actually reach the more rural areas. I am speaking of developed countries, of which the world is largely made up.
Also, I wouldn't call this a "reverse brain-drain" as these people working from afar are still serving the companies and businesses in large cities.