Peer-to-Peer Markets

Liran Einav, Chiara Farronato () and Jonathan Levin ()
Additional contact information
Chiara Farronato: Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts 02163
Jonathan Levin: Department of Economics, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305-6072

Annual Review of Economics, 2016, vol. 8, issue 1, 615-635

Abstract: Peer-to-peer markets such as eBay, Uber, and Airbnb allow small suppliers to compete with traditional providers of goods or services. We view the primary function of these markets as making it easy for buyers to find sellers and engage in convenient, trustworthy transactions. We discuss elements of market design that make this possible, including search and matching algorithms, pricing, and reputation systems. We then develop a simple model of how these markets enable entry by small or flexible suppliers, and how they impact existing firms. Finally, we consider the regulation of peer-to-peer markets and the economic arguments for different approaches to licensing and certification, data, and employment regulation.

Keywords: market design; Internet markets; sharing economy; e-commerce; two-sided platforms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D47 L11 L81 L86 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (93)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Peer-to-Peer Markets (2015)
Working Paper: Peer-to-Peer Markets
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