Public interests in the sharing and gig economy

The success of Airbnb and Uber has given rise to a public debate about the pros and cons of online sharing and gig platforms. This article reports on five case studies of platforms operating in car sharing (SnappCar), home sharing (Airbnb), home restaurants (Airdnd), ride hailing (UberPop) and cleaning (Helpling). The article then puts the sharing and gig economy into a historical perspective to highlight that the platforms build on pre-existing social practices. and presents a policy framework based on four basic policy options: enforce existing regulations, enact new regulations, deregulate, or tolerate.The success of Airbnb and Uber has given rise to a public debate about the pros and cons of online sharing and gig platforms. This article reports on five case studies of platforms operating in car sharing (SnappCar), home sharing (Airbnb), home restaurants (Airdnd), ride hailing (UberPop) and cleaning (Helpling). The article then puts the sharing and gig economy into a historical perspective to highlight that the platforms build on pre-existing social practices. and presents a policy framework based on four basic policy options: enforce existing regulations, enact new regulations, deregulate, or tolerate