Descripción del proyecto
Cómo hacer que la «economía de bolos» funcione para los trabajadores
El mercado laboral actual está evolucionando en línea. La digitalización y la conectividad están cambiando las relaciones laborales y dando lugar a la «economía de bolos». Por ejemplo, los trabajadores son contratados a través de plataformas de internet para completar una única tarea de servicio (un «bolo»). ¿Pero cómo se está convirtiendo esto en un importante mercado laboral? Por supuesto, la parte en línea (tareas que deben realizarse con el ordenador, como programación, edición y traducción) constituye el primer mercado laboral mundial. En este contexto, el proyecto www.WORK financiado con fondos europeos, investigará qué sucede cuando los trabajadores temporales ofrecen servicios por tarifas bajas que no permiten tener seguro médico o cotizar para una pensión. En concreto, desarrollará un nuevo paradigma en la investigación institucional de los mercados en línea.
Objetivo
The 'gig economy', where workers are hired through internet platforms to complete a one-time service task (a 'gig'), is growing into a major labour market. Yet, we still lack a theory of how it develops. Its online part, including tasks to be completed at the computer (e.g. programming or translations), constitutes the first truly global labour market. Faced with unprecedented competition, most gig workers offer their services at low rates that do not allow for insurances or building up pensions. Several governments therefore consider making social security contributions compulsory. But can regulation at the national level protect workers in online markets, or will the demand for online gigs simply relocate to low-wage, low-protection economies?
Based on an interdisciplinary framework of theories on varieties-of-capitalism, innovation systems, and entrepreneurial ecosystems, I propose a new institutional theory on ‘mirror-image specialization’: I hypothesize that education and labour-market institutions lead requesters, platforms, and providers of online gig work to specialize in hiring, transacting, and offering those skills that are least available in their home labour markets. This leads to specialization patterns in a country’s online gig economy opposite to those in its traditional labour market. If this is the case, my theory breaks ground for a new paradigm in institutional research of online markets and indicates that national policy-making can protect gig workers without risking the relocation of gig demand.
To enable this theoretical high-risk/high-gain contribution, I will go beyond the empirical state-of-the-art of single-platform studies by collecting novel, large-N data on gig requesters (WP1), platforms (WP2), and gig providers (WP3). Using quantitative and qualitative methods, I will go beyond the analytical state-of-the-art of one-time studies and analyse panel and time-stamped data to gain over-time insights into how the online gig economy unfolds.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Régimen de financiación
ERC - Support for frontier research (ERC)Institución de acogida
6525 XZ Nijmegen
Países Bajos