The Evolution of the Online Platform Economy: Evidence from Five Years of Banking Data

Diana Farrell, Fiona Greig and Amar Hamoudi

AEA Papers and Proceedings, 2019, vol. 109, 362-66

Abstract: Measuring the gig economy has been challenging. Drawing on anonymized administrative banking data, we measure supply-side participation in the online platform economy between 2013 and 2018. We find 2.3 million account holders who received payments from 128 transportation, non-transport work, selling, and leasing platforms. Participation grew rapidly, particularly in the transportation sector. Average monthly revenues declined among drivers and increased among lessors even within metro areas. At least a third—and likely more—of the decline in transportation revenues is driven by decreases in hours worked. These findings raise important policy questions and motivate promising directions for future work.

JEL-codes: C81 J22 J23 L84 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
Note: DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20191040
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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