IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/revaec/v37y2024i4d10.1007_s11138-023-00624-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Information, classification and contestability: a cultural economics approach to Uber’s entry into the taxi industry

Author

Listed:
  • Anthony J. Evans

    (ESCP Business School)

Abstract

Because of their novelty, the rise of large platform companies, such as Uber, pose a genuine challenge to our attempts to classify and understand economic activities. This article utilises a broad view of cultural economics and subjectivist economic analysis to provide some clarity. We see how economic analysis is capable of dealing with companies that provide information based services, and why such industries are increasingly common. Goods, product categories and consumption rituals are all considered as social constructs, and subject to cultural interpretation. The main implication of this approach is how the prevention of exclusion and the elimination of entry barriers are both related and relevant to the well-functioning of market orders.

Suggested Citation

  • Anthony J. Evans, 2024. "Information, classification and contestability: a cultural economics approach to Uber’s entry into the taxi industry," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 37(4), pages 421-442, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:revaec:v:37:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s11138-023-00624-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s11138-023-00624-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11138-023-00624-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11138-023-00624-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. M. Keith Chen & Judith A. Chevalier & Peter E. Rossi & Emily Oehlsen, 2019. "The Value of Flexible Work: Evidence from Uber Drivers," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(6), pages 2735-2794.
    2. John Galbraith & Douglas Hodgson, 2015. "Innovation, experience and artists’ age-valuation profiles: evidence from eighteenth-century rococo and neoclassical painters," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 39(3), pages 259-275, August.
    3. Morris M. Kleiner & Alan B. Krueger, 2009. "Analyzing the Extent and Influence of Occupational Licensing on the Labor Market," Working Papers 1178, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    4. Colin Camerer & Linda Babcock & George Loewenstein & Richard Thaler, 1997. "Labor Supply of New York City Cabdrivers: One Day at a Time," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(2), pages 407-441.
    5. Morris M. Kleiner, 2000. "Occupational Licensing," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(4), pages 189-202, Fall.
    6. David P. Baron, 2018. "Disruptive Entrepreneurship and Dual Purpose Strategies: The Case of Uber," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(2), pages 439-462, June.
    7. George J. Stigler, 1971. "The Theory of Economic Regulation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 2(1), pages 3-21, Spring.
    8. Xavier Castañer & Lorenzo Campos, 2002. "The Determinants of Artistic Innovation: Bringing in the Role of Organizations," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 26(1), pages 29-52, February.
    9. Judd Cramer & Alan B. Krueger, 2016. "Disruptive Change in the Taxi Business: The Case of Uber," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(5), pages 177-182, May.
    10. Throsby, David, 1994. "The Production and Consumption of the Arts: A View of Cultural Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 32(1), pages 1-29, March.
    11. Jean-Charles Rochet & Jean Tirole, 2003. "Platform Competition in Two-Sided Markets," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 1(4), pages 990-1029, June.
    12. Sundararajan, Arun, 2016. "The Sharing Economy: The End of Employment and the Rise of Crowd-Based Capitalism," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262034573, December.
    13. Morris M. Kleiner & Alan B. Krueger, 2013. "Analyzing the Extent and Influence of Occupational Licensing on the Labor Market," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(S1), pages 173-202.
    14. Richard Arnott, 1995. "Time for Revisionism on Rent Control?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 99-120, Winter.
    15. Pedro Bento, 2014. "Competition as a Discovery Procedure: Schumpeter Meets Hayek in a Model of Innovation," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(3), pages 124-152, July.
    16. Haoran He & David Neumark & Qian Weng, 2021. "Do Workers Value Flexible Jobs? A Field Experiment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 39(3), pages 709-738.
    17. Carmen Camarero & Mª Garrido & Eva Vicente, 2011. "How cultural organizations’ size and funding influence innovation and performance: the case of museums," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 35(4), pages 247-266, November.
    18. Erwin Dekker, 2020. "On emancipators, engineers, and students: The appropriate attitude of the economist," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 33(1), pages 55-68, March.
    19. Wijnberg, Nachoem M., 2011. "Classification systems and selection systems: The risks of radical innovation and category spanning," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 297-306, September.
    20. Anagnostopoulos, Ioannis, 2018. "Fintech and regtech: Impact on regulators and banks," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 7-25.
    21. Pavel Kuchař, 2016. "Entrepreneurship and institutional change," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 349-379, May.
    22. Erwin Dekker & Pavel Kuchař, 2016. "Exemplary Goods: The Product as Economic Variable," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 136(3), pages 237-255.
    23. Alba, Joseph W & Hutchinson, J Wesley, 1987. "Dimensions of Consumer Expertise," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 13(4), pages 411-454, March.
    24. Peter Harasztosi & Attila Lindner, 2019. "Who Pays for the Minimum Wage?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(8), pages 2693-2727, August.
    25. Arjo Klamer, 2016. "The value-based approach to cultural economics," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 40(4), pages 365-373, November.
    26. Dekker,Erwin & Kucha?,Pavel (ed.), 2021. "Governing Markets as Knowledge Commons," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781108483599, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wang, Hai & Yang, Hai, 2019. "Ridesourcing systems: A framework and review," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 122-155.
    2. Sauro Mocetti & Giacomo Roma & Enrico Rubolino, 2022. "Knocking on Parents’ Doors: Regulation and Intergenerational Mobility," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(2), pages 525-554.
    3. Mocetti, Sauro & Rizzica, Lucia & Roma, Giacomo, 2021. "Regulated occupations in Italy: Extent and labour market effects," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    4. Koumenta, Maria & Pagliero, Mario & Rostam-Afschar, Davud, 2022. "Occupational Regulation, Institutions, and Migrants’ Labor Market Outcomes," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    5. Yongwook Paik & Christos A. Makridis, 2023. "The social value of a ridesharing platform: a hedonic pricing approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 64(5), pages 2125-2150, May.
    6. Mario Pagliero, 2019. "Occupational Licensing in the EU: Protecting Consumers or Limiting Competition?," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 55(1), pages 137-153, August.
    7. Pagliero, Mario, 2013. "The impact of potential labor supply on licensing exam difficulty," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 141-152.
    8. Philipp Lergetporer & Jens Ruhose & Lisa Simon, 2018. "Entry Barriers and the Labor Market Outcomes of Incumbent Workers: Evidence from a Deregulation Reform in the German Crafts Sector," CESifo Working Paper Series 7274, CESifo.
    9. Wei Chi & Morris M. Kleiner & Xiaoye Qian, 2017. "Do Occupational Regulations Increase Earnings? Evidence from China," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(2), pages 351-381, April.
    10. Robert J. Thornton & Edward J. Timmons, 2013. "Licensing One of the World's Oldest Professions: Massage," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(2), pages 371-388.
    11. Morikawa, Masayuki, 2018. "Occupational licenses and labor market outcomes in Japan," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 45-56.
    12. Scott Duke Kominers & Alexander Teytelboym & Vincent P Crawford, 2017. "An invitation to market design," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 33(4), pages 541-571.
    13. Wang, Wei & Miao, Wei & Liu, Yongdong & Deng, Yiting & Cao, Yunfei, 2022. "The impact of COVID-19 on the ride-sharing industry and its recovery: Causal evidence from China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 128-141.
    14. Berger, Thor & Chen, Chinchih & Frey, Carl Benedikt, 2018. "Drivers of disruption? Estimating the Uber effect," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 197-210.
    15. Bamieh, Omar & Cintolesi, Andrea, 2021. "Intergenerational transmission in regulated professions and the role of familism," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 857-879.
    16. Raitano, Michele & Vona, Francesco, 2021. "Nepotism vs. Specific Skills: The effect of professional liberalization on returns to parental background of Italian lawyers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 489-505.
    17. Agam Gupta & Biswatosh Saha & Parthasarathi Banerjee, 2018. "Pricing decisions of car aggregation platforms in sharing economy: a developing economy perspective," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 17(5), pages 341-355, October.
    18. Hai Long Duong & Junhong Chu & Dai Yao, 2023. "Taxi Drivers’ Response to Cancellations and No-Shows: New Evidence for Reference-Dependent Preferences," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(1), pages 179-199, January.
    19. John M. Barrios, 2022. "Occupational Licensing and Accountant Quality: Evidence from the 150‐Hour Rule," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(1), pages 3-43, March.
    20. Jonathan B. Berk & Jules H. Van Binsbergen, 2022. "Regulation of Charlatans in High‐Skill Professions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 77(2), pages 1219-1258, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Competition; Platforms; Uber;
    All these keywords.

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:revaec:v:37:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s11138-023-00624-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.