Publications
Publications
- Forthcoming
- American Economic Review
Who Benefits from Online Gig Economy Platforms?
By: Christopher T. Stanton and Catherine Thomas
Abstract
Online labor platforms for short-term, remote work have many more job seekers than available jobs. Despite their relative abundance, workers capture a substantial share of the surplus from transactions. We draw this conclusion from demand estimates that imply workers' wages include significant markups over costs and a survey that validates our surplus estimates. Demand-side search frictions and differentiated characteristics prevent workers from competing away supply-side surplus. Finally, we show that applying traditional employment regulations to online gig economy platforms would lower job posting and hiring rates, reducing aggregate surplus for all market participants, including workers.
Keywords
Gig Economy; Knowledge Workers; Online Platforms; Job Search; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Wages; Demand and Consumers
Citation
Stanton, Christopher T., and Catherine Thomas. "Who Benefits from Online Gig Economy Platforms?" American Economic Review (forthcoming).