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Platforms and Shared Economy: Precarity of Work or Building Agency?

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  • Jeemol Unni

    (Ahmedabad University)

Abstract

The emergence of platforms and the associated idea of the shared economy have fostered a lot of research relating to the future of work. The question that arises is: does the advent of platform work enhance precarity of work as contracts become increasingly informal or does it build agency as the barriers to work participation decline? It is critical to understand the nuances of the ongoing processes and recognize the heterogeneity among platforms as precarity of work or agency may be a function of the nature of the platform and the type of work that it offers. This paper presents a tentative heuristic framework that can be used to understand precarity and agency in the context of the platform economy. This framework and some empirical evidence is used to compare two types of platforms in the food sector to understand the nuances of the processes at work.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeemol Unni, 2023. "Platforms and Shared Economy: Precarity of Work or Building Agency?," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 66(2), pages 355-370, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ijlaec:v:66:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s41027-023-00435-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s41027-023-00435-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Acquier, Aurélien & Daudigeos, Thibault & Pinkse, Jonatan, 2017. "Promises and paradoxes of the sharing economy: An organizing framework," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 1-10.
    2. Christina Purcell & Paul Brook, 2022. "At Least I’m My Own Boss! Explaining Consent, Coercion and Resistance in Platform Work," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 36(3), pages 391-406, June.
    3. 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.
    4. Naila Kabeer, 1999. "Resources, Agency, Achievements: Reflections on the Measurement of Women's Empowerment," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 30(3), pages 435-464, July.
    5. Kamala Sankaran, 2022. "Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy: The Need for a Multi-faceted Approach," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 65(3), pages 625-642, September.
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