2018-07-26
FOR Message 20/2018: The popularity of the sharing economy - conclusions from the Sharing Economy Index
- The Sharing Economy Index by the Swedish think tank Timbro compares the popularity of sharing economy services in over 200 countries and dependent territories in the world.
- The development of digital technologies reduces the cost of the search for those willing to exchange any kind of goods and services, and innovative reputation systems make it much easier to trust previously unknown people. In the FOR report "E-development. Digital technologies and the economy" we showed that digital technologies and innovative solutions have brought about a massive increase in the number of transactions between private individuals, which underlies the sharing economy.
- The index is high in countries with a developed tourism sector, where accommodation services constitute a large part of the sharing economy. This is one of the factors explaining the top position of Iceland in the ranking.
- Poland ranked 92nd out of 213 analyzed countries and dependent territories in the ranking of popularity of shared economics services. We took 7th place among the countries of our region and 22nd place in the European Union. This shows that there is still a high potential for the development of sharing economy services in Poland.
- Many regulations or tax solutions created for traditional enterprises and employer-employee relations are not compatible with the digital reality in which the sharing economy services operate.
- As shown by the authors of the Sharing Economy Index, the development of the sharing economy is fostered by a higher level of economic freedom and access to broadband Internet. In addition, platforms operating as part of the sharing economy allow building trust between providers and clients.
Author
Marek Tatała, FOR Vice President,
marek.tatala@for.org.pl
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