Work in the Gig-Economy: The Role of the State and Non-State Actors Ceding and Seizing Regulatory Space

Cristina Inversi, Tony Dundon and Lucy-Ann Buckley
Additional contact information
Cristina Inversi: University of Manchester, UK
Tony Dundon: University of Limerick, Ireland
Lucy-Ann Buckley: National University of Ireland Galway, Ireland

Work, Employment & Society, 2023, vol. 37, issue 5, 1279-1298

Abstract: Using the concept of regulatory space, this article asks how both the state and non-state actors influence employment regulations particular to the gig-economy. To address this question a mixed method approach is used, including interviews with strategically placed informants involved in policy formation at national and international levels, content analysis of legal cases, parliamentary inquiry transcripts and policy reports. The analysis contributes to an understanding of employment regulation by the state in two ways. First, it reports distinct ‘levers’, which lead to a particular state role of ‘ceding and seizing’ regulatory power. Second, it argues that these levers ultimately serve the accumulation interests of capital over the legitimacy of employment rights for labour. The findings have wider societal implications for issues of equity, justice and employment regulation applicable to the gig-economy.

Keywords: employment power; employment regulation; gig-economy; regulatory space; the state (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09500170221080387 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:37:y:2023:i:5:p:1279-1298

DOI: 10.1177/09500170221080387

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Work, Employment & Society from British Sociological Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().