Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Quantity and Quality of Work in the Platform Economy

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Book cover Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics

Abstract

This critical and scoping review essay analyzes digital labor markets where labor-intensive services are traded by matching requesters (employers and/or consumers) and providers (workers). It first discusses up to what extent labor platform can be treated as two-sided or multi-sided markets, and the implications of these classifications. It then moves to address the legal and regulatory issues implied by these technologies. From a theoretical point of view, using a framework where innovation is not neutral in the labor market, platforms have implications for the quantity of jobs, for the kind of skills and tasks which are exchanged, and in terms of bargaining power of the contracting parties. It includes a critical evaluation of the empirical evidence from a variety of sources.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Acemoglu D, Autor D (2011) Skills, tasks and technologies: implications for employment and earnings. In: Ashenfelter O, Card D (eds) Handbook of labor economics, vol 4. Elsevier, Holland, North

    Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong M (2006) Competition in two-sided markets. RAND J Econ 37(3):668–691. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1756-2171.2006.tb00037.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Auer D, Petit N (2015) Two-sided markets and the challenge of turning economic theory into antitrust policy. Antitrust Bull 60(4):426–461

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berg J (2016) Income security in the on-demand economy: findings and policy lessons from a survey of crowdworkers. Comp Labor Law Policy J 37(3):543–576

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg J, Furrer M, Harmon E, Rani U, Silberman MS (2018) Digital labour platforms and the future of work: towards decent work in the online world. International Labour Organization, Geneva, September 20

    Google Scholar 

  • Bogliacino F, Vivarelli M (2012) The job creation effect of R&D expenditures. Aust Econ Pap 51(2):96–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bogliacino F, Cirillo V, Fana M, Codagnone C, Lupiáñez-Villanueva F, Veltri GA (2019) Shaping individual preferences for social protection: the case of platform workers, LEM papers series 2019/21. Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa

    Google Scholar 

  • Choudary SP (2018) The architecture of digital labour platforms: policy recommendations on platform design for worker well-being. ILO future of work working paper series. Research Paper 3, International Labour Office – Geneva: ILO

    Google Scholar 

  • Codagnone C, Abadie F, Biagi F (2016) The passions and the interests: unpacking the sharing economy, JRC science for policy report. Publications Office of the European Union Studies, Luxembourg, forthcoming

    Google Scholar 

  • Codagnone C, Lupiáñez-Villanueva F, Tornese P, Gaskell G et al (2018) Behavioural study on the effects of an extension of access to social protection for people in all forms of employment. European Commission, DG Employment Social Affairs and Inclusion, Brussels

    Google Scholar 

  • Codagnone C, Karatzogianni A, Matthews J (2019) Platform economics rhetoric and reality in the “sharing economy”. Emerald Publishing, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Collier RB, Dubal VB, Carter C (2017) Labor platforms and gig work: the failure to regulate. RLE Working Paper No. 106–17. http://irle.berkeley.edu/files/2017/Labor-Platforms-and-Gig-Work.pdf

  • Cook C, Diamond R, Hall J, List J Oyer P (2018) The gender earnings gap in the gig economy: evidence from over a million rideshare drivers. Natural field experiments 00634, The field experiments website

    Google Scholar 

  • Coyle D (2018) Practical competition policy implications of digital platforms. Bennett Institute for Public Policy working paper, (01)

    Google Scholar 

  • Cullen Z, Farronato C (2015) Outsourcing tasks online: matching supply and demand on peer-to-peer internet platforms. Department of Economics, Stanford University, Standford. Retrieved from http://web.stanford.edu/~chiaraf/matching_p2p_latest.pdf

  • De Stefano V (2016) The rise of the “just-in-time workforce”: on-demand work, crowdwork and labour protection in the “gig-economy”. International Labour Office, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • De Stefano V, Aloisi A (2018) European legal framework for digital labour platforms. European Commission, Luxembourg. https://doi.org/10.2760/78590. ISBN 978-92-79-94131-3, JRC112243

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Degryse C (2016) Digitalisation of the economy and its impact on labour markets. ETUI research paper-working paper. European Trade Union Institute, Brussels

    Google Scholar 

  • Dettling L (2016) Broadband in the labor market: the impact of residential high speed internet on married women’s labor force participation. Ind Labor Rel Rev 70(2):451–482

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drakoupil, Piasna (2017) Work in the platform economy: beyond lower transaction costs. Intereconomics 52(6):335–340

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenmann T, Parker G, Van Alstyne M (2006) Strategies for two-sided markets. Harv Bus Rev 84(10):92–101

    Google Scholar 

  • Eurofound (2018a) Automation, digitalisation and platforms: implications for work and employment. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg

    Google Scholar 

  • Eurofound (2018b) Employment and working conditions of selected types of platform work. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg

    Google Scholar 

  • European Commission (2016) Communication from the Commission to the European parliament, the council, the European economic and social committee and the committee of the regions. A European agenda for the collaborative economy – COM/2016/0356 final

    Google Scholar 

  • European Parliament (2017) Resolution of 15 June 2017 on a European Agenda for the collaborative economy (2017/2003(INI))

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans D (2003) Some empirical aspects of multi-sided platform industries. Rev Netw Econ 2(3):2194–5993. https://doi.org/10.2202/1446-9022.1026

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, D. (2011). Platforms economics: essays on multi-sided businesses. Competition policy international, December 22

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans D, Schmalensee R (2007) The Industrial organization of markets with two-sided platforms. Compet Policy Int 3(1):151–179

    Google Scholar 

  • Faioli M (2018) Gig economy and market design. Why to regulate the market of jobs carried out through digital platforms (January 2, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3095403 or https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3095403

  • Farronato C, Fradkin A (2015) The Welfare Effects of Peer Entry in the Accommodation Market: The Case of Airbnb with Andrey Fradkin (2018), NBER Working Paper 24361

    Google Scholar 

  • Filistrucchi L, Geradin D, Van Damme E (2013) Identifying two-sided markets. World Compet Law Econ Rev 36(1):33–60

    Google Scholar 

  • Filistrucchi L, Geradin D, van Damme E, Affeldt P (2014) Market definition in two-sided markets: theory and practices. J Compet Law Econ 10(2):293–339. https://doi.org/10.1093/joclec/nhu007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guarascio D, Sacchi S (2018) Digital platform in Italy. An analysis of economic and employment trends. INAPPolicy brief 8/2018

    Google Scholar 

  • Hagiu A, Wright J (2015a) Enabling versus controlling. Harvard Business School Strategy Unit working paper no. 16-002. Retrieved from http://ssrn.com/abstract=2627843. 20 Nov 2015

  • Hagiu A, Wright J (2015b) Marketplace or reseller? Manag Sci 61(1):184–203. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.2042

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hagiu A, Wright J (2015c) Multi-sided platforms. Int J Ind Organ. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijindorg.2015.03.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall JV, Krueger AB (2018) An analysis of the labor market for Uber’s driver-partners in the United States. ILR Rev 71(3):705–732

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris S, Krueger A (2015) A proposal for modernizing labor laws for twenty-first-century work: the ‘independent worker’. Discussion paper 2015-10. The Hamilton Project, Brookings, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill S (2015). New economy, new social contract: A plan for a safey net in a multiemployer world. New America Foundation. Retrived from https://static.newamerica.org/attachments/4395-new-economy-new-social-contract/NewEconomy,SocialContract_UpdatedFinal.34c973248e6946d0af17116fbd6bb79e.pdf. 20 Nov 2015

  • Hirschman AO (1977) The passions and the interests: political arguments for capitalism before its triumph. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Horton J (2010) Online labor markets. Internet Netw Econ 6484:515–522. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17572-5_45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IMF (2017) World economic outlook. Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Ipeirotis P (2010) Analyzing the Amazon mechanical turk marketplace. XRDS 17(2):16–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Irani (2015) Difference and dependence among digital workers: the case of Amazon Mechanical Turk. South Atl Q 114(1) 225–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khan LM (2017) Amazon’s antitrust paradox. Yale Law J 126(3):564–907. https://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/amazons-antitrust-paradox

  • Lepanjuuri K, Wishart R, Cornick P (2018) The characteristics of those in the gig economy. Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, London. Accessed 10

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Regan M (2016, November 10) Seanad passes Bill providing collective pay bargainingfor self-employed. Retrieved from https://goo.gl/whJaHP

  • Pallais A (2013) Inefficient hiring in entry-level labor markets. NBER Working paper series, 18917. https://doi.org/10.3386/w18917

  • Parker GG, Alstyne MWV (2005) Two-sided network effects: a theory of information product design. Manag Sci 51(10):1494–1504. https://doi.org/10.2307/20110438

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker G, Van Alstyne M (2000) Internetwork externalities and free information goods. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 2nd ACM conference on electronic commerce, Minneapolis

    Google Scholar 

  • Pesole A, Brancati MCU, Macias EF, Biagi F, Vazquez IG et al (2018) Platform workers in Europe: evidence from the COLLEEM survey. Tech. rep., Joint Research Centre (Seville site)

    Google Scholar 

  • RFS (2015) 1099 economy workforce report: request for startup (RFS). Summary of report retrieved from: http://www.slideshare.net/RequestsForStartups/the-2015-1099-economy-workforce-report-preview. 15 Nov 2015

  • Rochet J-C, Tirole J (2003) Platform competition in two-sided markets. J Eur Econ Assoc 1(4):990–1029. https://doi.org/10.1162/154247603322493212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rochet J-C, Tirole J (2006) Two-sided markets: a progress report. RAND J Econ 37(3):645–667

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossotto C, Kuek S, Paradi-Guilford C (2012) New frontiers and opportunities in work. World Bank, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Prassl J (2018) Humans as a service. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rysman M (2009) The economics of two-sided markets. J Econ Perspect 23(3):125–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saltari E, Travaglini G (2008) Il rallentamento della produttività del lavoro e la crescita dell’occupazione. Il ruolo del progresso tecnologico e della flessibilità del lavoro Rivista italiana degli economisti, Società editrice il Mulino, 1, pp 3–38

    Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro C, Carl S, Varian HR (1998) Information rules: a strategic guide to the network economy. Harvard Business Press, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Silberzahn R, Uhlmann EL, Zhu L (2014) Pay as she goes: for stereotypically male jobs, women tend to be hired by the hour. Acad Manag Proc 2014(1) 16273

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smorto G (2019) Regulating (and self-regulating) the sharing economy in Europe: an overview. In: Bruglieri M (ed) Multi-disciplinary design of sharing services, Springer, Milano

    Google Scholar 

  • Strom S, Schmitt M (2016) Protecting workers in a patchwork economy. The Century Foundation, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor FW (1911) The principles of scientific management. Harper & Brothers

    Google Scholar 

  • Uhlmann EL, Silberzahn R (2014) Conformity under uncertainty: reliance on gender stereotypes in online hiring decisions. Behav Brain Sci 37(1):103–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Veneziani B (2009) The employment relationship. In: Hepple B, Veneziani B (eds) The transformation of labour law in Europe. A comparative study of 15, 1945–2004. Hart, Oxford/Portland

    Google Scholar 

  • Weil D (2014) The fissured workplace: why work became bad for so many and what can be done to improve it. Harvard University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Weiss M (2016) Tecnologia, ambiente e demografia: il diritto del lavoro alla prova della nuova grande trasformazione in Dir. rel. in, 3, p 654

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigaciones para el Desarrollo (CID), Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia

    Francesco Bogliacino

  2. Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Cristiano Codagnone

  3. Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

    Cristiano Codagnone

  4. INAPP, National Institute for the Analysis of Public Policies, Rome, Italy

    Valeria Cirillo

  5. Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy

    Dario Guarascio

Authors
  1. Francesco Bogliacino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Cristiano Codagnone
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Valeria Cirillo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Dario Guarascio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francesco Bogliacino .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. UNU-MERIT & Princeton University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Klaus F. Zimmermann

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Economic Policy, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano, Italy

    Marco Vivarelli

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Bogliacino, F., Codagnone, C., Cirillo, V., Guarascio, D. (2020). Quantity and Quality of Work in the Platform Economy. In: Zimmermann, K. (eds) Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_18-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_18-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-57365-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-57365-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation