Platform Economics: Rhetoric and Reality in the "Sharing Economy"

by Cristiano Codagnone (Author), Jacob Matthews (Author), Athina Karatzogianni (Author)

Platform Economics tackles head on the rhetoric surrounding the so-called "sharing economy", which has muddied public debate and has contributed to a lack of policy and regulatory intervention.
The book sheds light on the sharing economy debate by offering an in-depth analysis both of rhetoric employed by sharing economy actors, and by mapping key aspects of digital labour markets. The platform is discussed both as a source of innovation and growth and as a matter of policy concern over competition, tax collection, consumers' protection, privacy, and algorithms transparency, and the future of work.
The authors show that actors in the sharing economy have not only used the narratives describing the initial phase of the sharing movement to their advantage, but have also succeeded in enlisting diffuse interests as their allies. The authors' research draws particular attention to the predicted advent of technological unemployment in conjunction with widespread concern over the robotisation of jobs.
Advocating an inter-disciplinary approach in which economics, sociology, anthropology, legal studies, and rhetorical analysis converge, this text will prove invaluable to students, researchers and economists alike

Review
The champions of the "sharing economy" tout two apparently contradictory rhetorics, say Condognone, Karatzofianni, and Matthews. One is of disruptive innovation typical of neo-liberal ideology; and the other is a positive normative discourse about grass-roots and bottom-up revival of community, trust, social capital, and the moral economy allegedly enacted by exchange between peers. This obfuscation has contributed to delays in or total lack of policy and regulatory intervention, they say, so that the platforms have grown into powerful economic and political players with no public or legal constraints. –Annotation ©2019 Ringgold Inc. Portland, OR (protoview.com)

About the Author
Cristiano Codagnone is Aggregate Professor in Media and Communication at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain and Researcher in the Social and Political Science at Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy. His research focuses on the behavioural and socio-economic dimensions of the digital transformation of economy, society, and government.
Athina Karatzogianni is Associate Professor in Media and Communication at the University of Leicester, UK and researches the impact of digitization on the political economy of conflict, activism and security.
Jacob Matthews is Professor of Information and Communication Sciences at the Université Paris 8, France. His research now primarily focuses on the political economy of the Internet and digital intermediation platforms