Top Research Papers on Gig Economy

The 'gig economy' is a relatively recent term coined to describe a range of working arrangements that have previously been denoted as precarious, flexible and contingent. These may include casual workers, temporary agency workers, those on zero-hours contracts and dependent contractors. This books seeks to get behind the contemporary buzz surrounding the term and provide some theoretical and empirical analysis of the gig work phenomenon. The book seeks to assess more critically some of the rhetorical claims made about gig work and to provide a balanced appraisal of the ramifications for indivi...

Gig jobs have become a structural aspect of contemporary economic landscape, creating unique social and technological challenges. How can policies and design solutions better protect gig workers and mitigate the risks participants face?

The gig economy can serve up to 90 million jobs in the non-farm sectors in India with a potential to add 1.25% to the GDP over the "long term".

The number of people holding non-traditional jobs (independent contractors, temporary workers, “gig” workers) has grown steadily as technology increasingly enables short-term labor contracting and fixed employment costs continue to rise. For many firms that need less than a full-time person for short-term work and for many workers who value flexibility this has created a great deal of surplus. During slack economic periods, non-traditional work also serves as an alternative safety net. Non-traditional jobs will continue to become more common, though policy changes could slow or accelerate the ...

Modern economy has benefited from gig economy idea, where, instead of hiring permanent employees, a company assigns each task to the person who is the most efficient in performing this task. This way, each task is performed in the best possible way -by a person who is the most suited for this job. Why not extend this idea to education? Every student deserves the best possible teacher in every topic. So why not have a teacher who is the best in town in explaining quadratic equations teach quadratic equations to all the students from the town? In this paper, we describe this proposal and its log...

"Increasingly, employees are being falsely treated as ‘self-employed’. This phenomenon – the ‘gig economy’ – is seen as the inevitable shape of things to come. In this book, Colin Crouch takes a step back and questions this logic. He shows how the idea of an employee – a stable status that involves a bundle of rights – has maintained a curious persistence. Examining the ways companies are attacking these rights, from proffering temporary work to involuntary part-time work to ‘gigging’, he reveals the paradoxes of the situation and argues that it should not and cannot continue. He goes on to pr...

This paper will examine the business model and discuss recommendations of best practices for integrating the gig economy as a solution to workforce issues, improving global economic policies, entrepreneurial growth and society. Technology, demand, and location are environmental factors that we analyzed. The positive and negative contributions that entrepreneurs have on this economy are outlined, as well. Throughout the research, the achievement of understanding what the gig economy is and how it is shaping the future is a key focus. The conclusion is made of whether the gig economy is somethin...

Militant groups delegate operations to contingent, short-term, and freelance agents. Such informal and ad-hoc employment patterns have wide-reaching consequences, yet the academic literature lacks a systematic vocabulary and framework to analyze these practices. Using primary and secondary sources, I introduce a descriptive typology of informal employment patterns in militant groups, contributing to scholarship and practice by establishing a basis for a systematic comparison of variation in militant employment models, particularly highlighting how these practices can have far-reaching implicat...

In this article, I explore the relationship between yoga and the gig economy, a phenomenon that was accentuated during the pandemic and has prevailed in the current cost-of-living crisis. In the first half of the article, I review existing literature in relation to yoga, women and work, and examine how flexibilization, precarization and gender intersect in the organization of labour, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the second half of the article, I draw on my observations from a conceptual reading of Instagram content, and social justice activity organized by the Independent Workers’ Union ...

This report wishes to explore the dimension, quality and characteristics of Gig Economy in a comparative way. Platform capitalism represents the most appropriate form to interpret the ongoing capitalistic transformations. But the modalities to analyze this phenomenon and the normative efforts appear as still very much contaminated by the prevalent narratives among public opinion. This comparative analysis looks at the main studies carried out at a European and national level on the quality and diffusion of platform economies, in an attempt to go beyond mainstream narratives, and therefore offe...

In the industrial era, traditional firms emerged as an efficient resource allocation, but in the past two decades, informatization and technological development have spawned a series of emerging economic models, among which the gig economy attracts much attention globally.

As the shift towards the gig economy and more transient employment relationship happens, organizations continue to face the dilemma of building trust among gig economy workers. Gig economy workers cannot be treated like permanent workers within traditional employment contracts, as it would defeat the advantages of flexibilization that the gig economy provides. It is necessary that leaders of platform-based corporations stand by gig economy workers contracted by them when they face instances of prejudice from customers or other social actors. Formalization of the modes through which platform co...

Researchers are seeking multidisciplinary research into the rapidly evolving gig-economy to help shape the future of work in the sector.

Due to advances in technology like mobile applications and online platforms, millions of American workers now earn income through “gig” work, which allows them the flexibility to set their own hours and choose which jobs to take. To the surprise of many gig workers, the tax law considers them to be “business owners,” which subjects them to onerous recordkeeping and filing requirements, along with the obligation to pay quarterly estimated taxes. This Article proposes two reforms that would drastically reduce compliance burdens for this new generation of business owners, while simultaneously enh...

Unlike traditional firm production, gig economy workers provide their own physical capital. As a consequence, the low‐income households for whom gig economy opportunities are most valuable often borrow to participate. In the context of ride‐share, difference‐in‐difference analysis reveals increased vehicle purchases, borrowing, utilization, and employment around entry, but financially constrained individuals cannot participate. To assess the equilibrium importance of financing, I build and estimate a structural model of the gig economy. Access to finance proves critical for the gig economy's g...

Fixed-term, contract-based employment is continuously spreading in the world. It has been given many names; in this paper it is termed the gig economy in the most comprehensive sense. We are going to present the basic features of the gig economy with special attention to short-term, incentive contracts affecting the relationship between employer and worker. In the gig economy employers use performance related wage to incentivise workers to work with the required intensity. By that incentive, employers also source out their risk to their workers whose wages and all their employment becomes unce...

The analysis show that the HR functions in the companies are expected to shape according to the new trends in the GIG economy, and automation and artificial intelligence technologies could have a significant impact on the gig economy.

The post-pandemic economic landscape has witnessed the emergence of a worldwide sharing economy system, commonly known as the ‘gig economy’. This system represents a significant transformation in labor and services exchange characterized by short-term jobs, freelance, or on-demand work arrangements facilitated by digital platforms. Recently, the gig economy has emerged as a highly promising employment preference due to its flexibility. However, it has also led to significant inequality issues for traditional workers. Moreover, this sharing economy system also exerts substantial impacts on the ...

ICAS Director of Taxation Charlotte Barbour MA CA CTA (Fellow) on the tax implications of the gig economy and what makes a 'worker'.

The prototypical gig worker—a contract driver for a ridesharing company—reports self-employment earnings in the Taxi and Limousine Services industry. Growth in the number of self-employed drivers in this industry has dramatically outpaced the growth in solo self-employment in any other industry. We use rich administrative tax data to explore who these workers are, how that has changed over time and how the new drivers combine self-employment with wage and salary work. Uber’s entrance to a local labor market leads to significant growth in the number of drivers over the following years. Other th...

This abstract explores the key characteristics of the gig economy, including its reliance on technology, emphasis on flexibility, and its implications for workers, businesses, and society as a whole.

Eighteen years ago, the New York Times Magazine reported on a proposed online project aimed at protecting the country’s 47,000 strategic facilities, including oil pipelines, power stations, and dams. How do you protect such a vast network of sites vulnerable to sabotage, with limited government resources and personnel? The answer: pay freelance “spotters” eight to ten dollars an hour to check pictures sent to their home computers in order to answer the question: “do you see a person or vehicle in this image?” A confirmed positive sighting would prompt a law enforcement response, “in less than ...

The current scenario of intentionally reduction in the size of a workforce at all stuffing levels of, brilliant professionals, the gig economy plays a vital role as a source of effect on today’sgeneration of skilled workforce. The gig economy has transformed the traditional working methods, working procedures and working location. The gig economy provides a new way of employment. It provides the opportunities for small businesses, entrepreneurs and freelancers. The objective of this study is to evaluate the changing face of today’s economy. This study enables the changing attributes of the gig...

This article argues that the gig economy is an exploitative extension of the informal economy. With its decentralised promise of individual entrepreneurship, I will argue that it places undue burdens on the worker as an ‘independent contractor’ that would otherwise be upheld by the employer. I will do so by applying a Marcusian analysis of the gig economy, highlighting two primary concerns. First, Marcuse’s critique of ‘industrial rationality’ explains how industrial rationality creates the framework for – and justification of – exploitation within the gig economy. Second, as Wendy Brown...

There are now an estimated 1.1 million people in Britain's gig economy, which is nearly as many workers as in the National Health Service (NHS) England. Over the last five years, the trend of using online platforms to source small, sometimes on-demand, jobs has accelerated, and shows little sign of slowing down. In the largest survey undertaken on Britain's gig economy, the RSA found that young people (aged 16-30) are particularly attracted to the idea of gig work - one in four said they would consider some form of it in future. Given this enormous potential for growth of the gig economy, the ...

It is shown that algorithmic control is central to the operation of online labour platforms and can result in low pay, social isolation, working unsocial and irregular hours, overwork, sleep deprivation and exhaustion.

This paper takes the gig economy as the research object, and from its definition and characteristics, discusses the changes brought by the gig economy to the traditional economic model in the aspects of work mode and labor relations. At the same time, it introduces the development of the economic model of part-time labor in various countries and the corresponding strategies of each country. This paper discusses the close relationship between the gig economic mode and the supply side reform, innovation and entrepreneurship, internet plus and sharing economy, so as to reflect the significance of...

Penelitian ini berupaya menguraikan perubahan dalam tatanan kehidupan akibat masifnya ekspansi perusahaan berbasis platform digital. Pada bentuk mutakhirnya, revolusi teknologi informasi memungkinkan praktik akumulasi kapital berbasis jaringan dalam bentuk gig economy. Ekspansi pekerjaan gig yang berlangsung melalui platformisasi terjadi dalam kondisi sosial yang spesifik. Dalam melacak lokus relasi sosial dan politik yang berubah sebagai konsekuensi logis dari interkoneksi, fokus diberikan terhadap friksi akibat ekspansi dan akumulasi kapital industri transportasi berbasis platform beserta ra...

In the wake of the Great Recession, labor scholars have explored the series of dramatic, digital transformations of work, employment, and labor relations that has accompanied the extraordinary grow...

This book draws together literature on globalization and small and medium enterprise development and internationalization from disparate sources into a cohesive body of work, which traces the evolution of entrepreneurship and the understanding of the topic.

The ‘gig economy’, comprised of app-enabled enterprises that profit from connecting consumers with service providers through smart communications technology, is growing exponentially. For the workers who provide the services, however, this kind of labour market engagement looks very much like the old ‘on demand’ engagement of labour, pre-dating the emergence of ‘employment’ and the legislation of protective labour standards. This paper (presented to a Festschrift for noted labour law scholar, Professor Ann Numhauser-Henning, at Lund University in March 2017) interrogates the potential for the ...

Abstract:Non-union construction employers have misclassified their workers for decades in order to lower costs, largely motivated by the desire to avoid the high workers' compensation premiums that accompany work in a dangerous industry. They now have a well-established system in which workers function as employees in every respect but are classified as independent contractors.

In recent years, a controversy has erupted over the distinction between employees and independent contractors. Commentators have argued that in the modern “gig economy,” many people traditionally classified as independent contractors are as vulnerable as employees and should be granted the legal protections that employees alone normally enjoy. However, the distinction between the two categories remains inescapable, and the theoretical basis for it has not been identified. A better approach derives the distinction from market structure. Employees are workers who, because they must make relation...

The gig economy, characterized by short-term contracts and freelance work, has significantly altered traditional employment models. This shift poses unique challenges and opportunities for Human Resource Management (HRM). As the gig economy grows, understanding the role of HRM in managing gig workers becomes crucial, particularly in terms of employee engagement, motivation, and retention. This research aims to explore the role of HRM practices in the gig economy, focusing on how HRM can effectively manage and support gig workers to enhance organizational performance and worker satisfaction. A ...

All of a sudden, everybody’s talking about the gig economy. From taxi drivers to pizza deliverers to the unemployed, we are all aware of the huge changes that it is driving in our lives as workers, consumers and citizens. This is the first comprehensive overview of this highly topical subject. Drawing upon years of research, stories from gig workers, and a review of the key trends and debates, Jamie Woodcock and Mark Graham shed light on how the gig economy came to be, how it works and what it’s like to work in it. They show that, although it has facilitated innovative new services and created...

This work analyzes the results of four large-scale surveys of US-based Amazon Mechanical Turk workers recorded over a six-year period, providing comparable measures to national statistics to show that despite unemployment far higher than national levels, crowdworkers are seeing positive shifts in employment status and household income.

This work examines how the digital nomad community dynamically brings together and negotiates digital mediation in the form of an information infrastructure to describe the emergent configuration of heterogeneous digital platforms leveraged by digital nomads as a community of location-independent, remote workers.

Definition of the term “gig economy”. Its rapid growth. Advantages and disadvantages of the gig economy. The three legal stauses and their importance. The self-employed, employee and worker a distinction and their significance. Case law evaluation and analysis providing equitable developments to worker status. Judicial creativity. Epitome.

What is the Gig Economy and how does it affect tax status? We go back to basics on the considerations to be made around employment and self-employment.

Contractors and other self-employed workers need a bigger safety net, less idiosyncratic risk, than other workers.

It is argued that certain algorithms can facilitate new relationships of domination by sustaining a socio-technical system in which the owners and managers of a company dominate workers.

Technological advances such as smartphones, mobile applications, and online platforms have enabled a new form of economy, known as a gig economy, at a large scale, in which there is a freemarket system allowing organizations (job providers) to hire independent contractors (job seeker). Unlike traditional employer and employee relationships, the gig economy creates opportunities for independent workers to seek short-term contract jobs and temporary positions. This article presents a systematic review of the literature associated with a bibliometric analysis of the global perspective of the gig ...

This work analyzes a unique survey data set from a national sample of 1512 U.S. adults to compare four stages of gig economy participation and implies that the gig economy increases labor market stratification and that digital participation inequalities compound labor inequalities.

ABSTRACT Employment practices in the gig economy have routinely been defended through the language of individual freedom. Indeed, this particular model of on-demand employment is often presented as removing constraints on the freedom to choose when, where and how to sell one’s labour, enabling individuals to exercise greater self-authorship over their working lives. In this article, however, I show how the particular conception of freedom that underpins this pro-gig work discourse functions to obscure significant threats to the liberty of gig workers. An alternative perspective, inspired by th...

As the workforce ages, how will the work lives of older people evolve? One way to ease into retirement is to move to the gig economy where workers choose hours and intensity of work that fit their needs and capabilities. However, older workers are often reaping the benefits of the latter end of an implicit contract while gig economy workers are paid their marginal product. We show that age/earnings profiles in the traditional labor market are different than for Uber drivers. While the move to the gig economy generates flexibility, older workers are paid less than their younger coworkers.

This research conducted a systematic literature review to investigate Employee Engagement in the context of the Gig Economy. Key factors, such as work flexibility, organizational support, and work-life balance, were identified as important determinants in influencing employee engagement levels. The research results show that employee engagement contributes to increasing work efficiency, work quality, job satisfaction, and stress management in gig workers. In addition, involvement in employee communities and increasing professional networks are crucial aspects in expanding impact and career opp...

Abstract Purpose. The purpose of this paper is to consider the development of the so-called gig economy and to show that really the developments in the labour market are really just a development of an increase in contingent work generally. Design/methodology/approach. The paper analyses relevant literature and statistical information, together with the issues raised by litigation in relation to the employment status of workers employed in the developing gig economy. Findings. The paper is part of a wider literature on the development of the gig economy and hopefully contributes to current ana...

Abstract: This contribution aims at analyzing the collective actions of platform workers through the prism of classical industrial relations law structures, and in relation with international standards. Design/methodology/approach: A mapping exercise is conducted to distinguish between platform-based and sector-based actions. This brings up questions related to the international protection of the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike, particularly in relation to competition law within the European Union. Particular attention is drawn to the British case-law IWGB v. Deliveroo ....

It is shown that, after controlling for observable workers’ characteristics and their job bids, foreign job-seekers are 42 percent less likely to win contracts from Spanish employers, which represent about two-thirds of all employers in the platform.

This article is an extract from 'Working paper 1: Literacy practices in the gig economy' (Farrell and Corbel 2017) [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 129.250]. It is part of the Literacy 4.0 Project at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, which is examining the workforce literacy needs of the workplaces of the future.