Economic Explanation: From Sharecropping to the Sharing Economy
-
Kevin K. Tsui
Abstract
I examine the sharing economy using a contractual approach pioneered by Cheung (1969, The Theory of Share Tenancy: With Special Application to Asian Agriculture and the First Phase of Taiwan Land Reform. Chicago: Chicago University Press). Progress in information technology that reduces transactions costs leads to the emergence of rental contract to supersede outright ownership, especially among goods and services in which search and monitoring costs had been major trade barriers. I present evidence that ridesharing indeed significantly lowers wait times. Trust cannot explain the economic success of some sharing economy companies (e. g., Airbnb, Uber) but not others (e. g., SnapGoods). Sharing power drill, the poster child of the sharing economy, is an economic failure because the major trade barrier is transportation rather than transaction costs. Changes in transaction costs lead to changes in contractual arrangements. In the case of contractual choice between ridesharing platform and drivers, findings about drivers’ characteristics and contract details are consistent with the theory of share tenancy. My analysis also sheds light on the current debate on the employment status of driver-partners.
References
Botsman, Rachel, and Roo Rogers. 2010. What’s Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption. New York: Harper Business.Suche in Google Scholar
Cheung, Steven N.S. 1969. The Theory of Share Tenancy: With Special Application to Asian Agriculture and the First Phase of Taiwan Land Reform. Chicago: Chicago University Press.Suche in Google Scholar
Cheung, Steven N.S. April 1979. “Rent Control and Housing Reconstruction: The Postwar Experience of Prewar Premises in Hong Kong,” Journal of Law and Economics 22(1): 27–53.10.1086/466932Suche in Google Scholar
Cheung, Steven N.S. April 1983. “The Contractual Nature of the Firm,” Journal of Law and Economics 26(1): 1–21.10.1086/467023Suche in Google Scholar
Hall, Jonathan V., and Alan B. Krueger. January 2015. “An Analysis of the Labor Market for Uber’s Driver-Partners in the United States.” Princeton University Working Papers, Industrial Relations Section 587.10.3386/w22843Suche in Google Scholar
Kendall, Todd D. and Kevin K. Tsui. December 2011. “The Economics of the Long Tail,” B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, 11(1): ISSN (Online) 1935–682.10.2202/1935-1682.2845Suche in Google Scholar
Klein, Benjamin, Robert G. Crawford, and Armen A. Alchian. October 1978. “Vertical Integration, Appropriable Rents, and the Competitive Contracting Process,” Journal of Law and Economics 21(2): 297–326.10.1017/CBO9780511817410.010Suche in Google Scholar
Portland Bureau of Transportation. 2015. Portland’s Private for-Hire Transportation Market: Summary Report of the PFHT Innovation Pilot Program.Suche in Google Scholar
Portland Revenue Bureau. January 2012. “Preliminary Findings Taxi Driver Labor Market Study: Long Hours, Low Wages.”Suche in Google Scholar
Wallsten, Scott. June 2015. “The Competitive Effects of the Sharing Economy: How is Uber Changing Taxis?” Technology Policy InstituteSuche in Google Scholar
Zervas, Georgios, Davide Proserpio, and John W. Byers. May 2015. “The Rise of the Sharing Economy: Estimating the Impact of Airbnb on the Hotel Industry.” Manuscript, Boston University.10.1509/jmr.15.0204Suche in Google Scholar
Zhan, Xianyuan, Xinwu Qian, and Satish V. Ukkusuri. August 2014. “Measuring the Efficiency of Urban Taxi Service System.” In Proceedings of 3rd UrbComp 2014 Workshop, New York City.Suche in Google Scholar
Note
I am grateful to Bill Dougan, Tom Hazlett, Tommy Leung, and Byron Tsang for helpful comments and discussions. All remaining errors are mine.
©2016 by De Gruyter
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Original Articles
- Steven N.S. Cheung’s Reminiscence of Himself – A Reply to Ning Wang
- China’s Challenge: Expanding the Market, Limiting the State
- Steve Cheung in Seattle, 1969–1982
- Steve Cheung as Teacher
- Steven Cheung at Chicago, 1968
- Seeing Things with Your Own Eyes: Steven Cheung’s Example for Economists
- Steven Cheung and Coasian Economics: A Personal Reflection
- Cheung, Becker and Marriage
- Economic Explanation: From Sharecropping to the Sharing Economy
- The Assembly of Rents
- Contract Matters: An Explanation of China’s Recent Economic History
- The Contractual Nature of the City
- Wisdom of the Past
- Benjamin Constant on Law and Government
- Market for ideas
- On Human and Natural Economies Interview Geerat J. Vermeij, by Grégoire Canlorbe
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Original Articles
- Steven N.S. Cheung’s Reminiscence of Himself – A Reply to Ning Wang
- China’s Challenge: Expanding the Market, Limiting the State
- Steve Cheung in Seattle, 1969–1982
- Steve Cheung as Teacher
- Steven Cheung at Chicago, 1968
- Seeing Things with Your Own Eyes: Steven Cheung’s Example for Economists
- Steven Cheung and Coasian Economics: A Personal Reflection
- Cheung, Becker and Marriage
- Economic Explanation: From Sharecropping to the Sharing Economy
- The Assembly of Rents
- Contract Matters: An Explanation of China’s Recent Economic History
- The Contractual Nature of the City
- Wisdom of the Past
- Benjamin Constant on Law and Government
- Market for ideas
- On Human and Natural Economies Interview Geerat J. Vermeij, by Grégoire Canlorbe
