Articles on Platform Economy

ceps.eu (31.10.2017) The partnership between delivery platform Deliveroo and workers’ cooperative SMart has been terminated, sparking new debate over workers’ rights in the platform economy.

The collaborative economy (or “platform economy”), encompassing work-on-demand via apps like Uber and crowdwork like Amazon Mechanical Turk, has grown exponentially in recent years, thanks to the development of high-speed networks, the exploitation of big data and the availability of mobile devices, which have cut down transaction costs and allow for real-time effective matching of supply and demand.

European Parliament (Dec 2017)  This study investigates the social protection of workers in the platform economy at the request of the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee. The report reviews literature and previous research on the platform economy with the aims of defining it and developing a typology for understanding its nature.

IMF F&D Magazine  (June 2018) Digital platforms are recasting the relationships between customers, workers, and employers as the silicon chip’s reach permeates almost everything we do—from buying groceries online to finding a partner on a dating website. As computing power improves dramatically and more and more people around the world participate in the digital economy, we should think carefully about how to devise policies that will allow us to fully exploit the digital revolution’s benefits while minimizing job dislocation.

rtve.es (04.06.2018) Un tribunal considera "falsos autónomos" a los repartidores de Deliveroo y condena a la empresa por despido improcedente.

The New York Times (07.06.2018) You can see the gig economy everywhere but in the statistics. For years, economists, pundits and policymakers have grappled with the rise of Uber, the growth of temporary work and the fissuring of the relationship between companies and their workers. Optimists cheered the flexibility offered by the freelance life. Pessimists fretted about the disappearance of traditional jobs, with the benefits and legal protections they provided.

Süddeutsche (31.05.2018) Maschinen sind dazu da, Arbeit zu erleichtern - und nicht, Arbeit wegzunehmen. Die Angst vor ihnen ist so unbegründet wie schon bei der Erfindung des Autos.

RTVE (04.06.2018) El Supremo avala la limitación de una licencia VTC por cada 30 de taxis.El Tribunal argumenta que es la "forma de garantizar el equilibrio" en el transporte Anula la obligación de que Uber y Unauto tengan una flota de al menos 7 vehículosEl Tribunal Supremo ha avalado este lunes la limitación de una licencia de vehículos de alquiler con conductor (VTC) por cada 30 de taxis, vigente desde 2015, siempre que sean necesarias y proporcionadas.

Forum OECD (24.05.2018)  The “operating system” of the Country, a series of fundamental blocks upon which services for citizens, the Public Administration, and enterprises are built.