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The Profitability Puzzle of Digital Labor Platforms

Author

Listed:
  • Zhongjin Li
  • Hao Qi

Abstract

By examining digital labor platforms that connect customers with gig workers, we attempt to solve the puzzle concerning why these labor platforms, such as ride-hailing companies and food delivery companies, continue to suffer weak profitability even though they promise a more efficient way to mobilize and utilize the platform’s labor force. Stylized facts on the profitability of the top ten global labor platforms and a descriptive analysis of their cost structures are presented. We further argue that the modes of production and competition inherent in digital labor platforms are critical to this profitability puzzle because they determine the upper limit of surplus value extraction in production and the heavy financial burden of profit generation for labor platforms. JEL Classification: P12, E24, D40

Suggested Citation

  • Zhongjin Li & Hao Qi, 2023. "The Profitability Puzzle of Digital Labor Platforms," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 55(4), pages 617-628, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:55:y:2023:i:4:p:617-628
    DOI: 10.1177/04866134231183213
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cédric Durand & Wiliiam Milberg, 2020. "Intellectual monopoly in global value chains," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(2), pages 404-429, March.
    2. James R. Crotty, 1993. "Rethinking Marxian Investment Theory: Keynes-Minsky Instability, Competitive Regime Shifts and Coerced Investment," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 25(1), pages 1-26, March.
    3. Tomas N Rotta, 2022. "Information rents, economic growth and inequality: an empirical study of the United States," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 46(2), pages 341-370.
    4. Hao Qi & Zhongjin Li, 2020. "Putting Precarity Back to Production: A Case Study of Didi Kuaiche Drivers in the City of Nanjing, China," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 52(3), pages 506-522, September.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    digital labor platforms; profitability; mode of production; mode of competition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • P12 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Enterprises
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • D40 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - General

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