Well-being effects of the digital platform economy. The case of temporary and self- employment

Maite Blázquez Cuesta, Ainhoa Herrarte and Ana I. Moro Egido ()
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Ainhoa Herrarte: Universidad Autonoma de Madrid.
Ana I. Moro Egido: Department of Economic Theory and Economic History, University of Granada.
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Ana Isabel Moro-Egido

No 23/05, ThE Papers from Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada.

Abstract: The increase in atypical jobs (self-employment and temporary jobs) driven by the digital platform economy (gig economy) has put this type of work in the spotlight of the social and political debate. Among the countries of the European Union, Spain stands out for having the highest volume of digital platform work. This study uses microdata from the Spanish Living Conditions Survey for the year 2018 and Google trends data on Deliveroo, Airbnb, Just Eat, Uber, and Freelance as a proxy of digital platform economy demand to analyse the well-being effects of being employed in any of the types of employment arrangements associated with the gig economy. Using an econometric approached based on instrumental variables, we find evidence that the most deleterious well-being effects are found among self-employed workers and for the dimension of well-being based on self-reported health. The self-employed (ownaccount workers) display a 125.8% decrease in average self-reported health levels compared to permanent workers. Our results suggest that the greater job insecurity and precariousness associated with self-employment outweighs the potential positive impact caused by the greater flexibility and autonomy of this type of work.

Keywords: Digital platform economy; Gig economy; Digital platform work; Self-employment; Temporary jobs; Well-being; Self-reported health; Happiness; Life satisfaction. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I31 J21 J40 J81 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 24 pages
Date: 2023-06-15
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-hap, nep-iue, nep-lma and nep-pay
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gra:wpaper:23/05

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