Can The Collaborative Economy Be A Solution For Sustainable Local Development?

The covid-19 pandemic and all the other interconnected crises have accentuated the transition to new forms of the collaborative economy. Digitization, digital platforms, and new collaborative business models have shaped a new, more environmentally responsible consumer and human behavior about the environment and resources used. The collaborative economy, also called the sharing economy, is a peer-to-peer economy and, is based on the sharing or exchange of goods services, or knowledge between individuals. These exchanges can be with money, or without monetary exchange (donations, barter, volunteering), based on digital platforms. The collaborative economy is changing the socio-economic model and presents new challenges for public authorities, which need to adapt and create the optim space for the development and promotion of the collaborative economy. In this sense, the question is whether the collaborative economy can be a solution for local sustainable development. To answer these questions, examples of good practices in the field of collaborative economy have been identified. The research aims to make a comparative analysis of some examples of good collaborative practices and then to issue some suggestions for the Romanian business environment. The collaborative economy creates new opportunities for all actors involved, e.g. it contributes to creating new jobs, and integrating people with disabilities into the labor market, leading to sustainable development.