Market Protection or Disruption? The Impact of a Minimum Rate in the Platform Economy
A minimum rate in the platform economy sounds appealing, but it could significantly disrupt the market. Researchers at Delft University of Technology used computer simulations to predict the effects. The conclusion: a fair wage is possible, but it requires bold political decisions.
What is the actual effect of a minimum tariff on the market? How would the relationship between the platform, clients, and workers change if the government intervened with a minimum wage?
In the WageIndicator Foundation's The Gig Work Podcast, Martijn Arets spoke to Farnoud Ghasemi, a researcher from Delft University of Technology and Jagiellonian University in Poland, about the findings in the report Regulating Ride-Sourcing Markets. Can minimum wage regulation protect drivers without disrupting the market?"
Their main question: can you protect self-employed taxi drivers without disrupting the market? The researchers used computer simulations to model the behaviour of taxi drivers and customers on platforms such as Uber and Lyft. This allows them to predict how they will react to new policies (a so-called ‘agent-based model’).
You can also find the highlights of this episode in this blog post.
Authors
Martijn Arets
