Platform Work: Evidence from Drivers in India, Indonesia, and Kenya

Achyuta Adhvaryu, Martin Atela, Valentina Brailovskaya, Priyanka Dua, Jenny Susan John, Pratibha Joshi and Rivandra Royono

No 34680, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Using surveys and administrative data from representative samples of drivers working on three leading gig platforms in India, Indonesia, and Kenya, we document the composition, economic experiences, and labor market trajectories of platform workers. Combining platform-based earnings with operating cost data, we estimate earnings net of costs (in PPP-adjusted terms) in each context. We find that the flexible nature of platform work enables drivers to work substantially more than the full-time equivalent, generating higher monthly net earnings than low-skill or casual employment, despite comparable or lower hourly net earnings relative to these outside options. Drivers who exit platform work in India and Indonesia do so to take up better-paying full-time positions. In contrast, Kenyan drivers often exit involuntarily, returning to offline driving with adverse financial consequences. One-third of drivers across countries rely on platform work to supplement earnings during emergencies or slow work periods, suggesting that platform work may play an important role as a financial safety net.

JEL-codes: J22 J30 J46 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-01
Note: DEV LS
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.nber.org/papers/w34680.pdf (application/pdf)
Access to the full text is generally limited to series subscribers, however if the top level domain of the client browser is in a developing country or transition economy free access is provided. More information about subscriptions and free access is available at http://www.nber.org/wwphelp.html. Free access is also available to older working papers.

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:nbr:nberwo:34680

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
http://www.nber.org/papers/w34680
The price is Paper copy available by mail.

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc National Bureau of Economic Research, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().