Sharing Economy

The sharing economy is an economic model often defined as a peer-to-peer (P2P) based activity of acquiring, providing or sharing access to goods and services that are facilitated by a community based on-line platform.

Communities of people have shared the use of assets for thousands of years, but the advent of the Internet – and its use of big data - has made it easier for asset owners and those seeking to use those assets to find each other. This sort of dynamic can also be referred to as the shareconomy, collaborative consumption, collaborative economy, or peer economy.

Sharing economies allow individuals and groups to make money from underused assets. In this way, physical assets are shared as services. Take for instance car sharing services like Lyft and Uber. According to data provided by the Brookings Institute, private vehicles go unused for 95% of their lifetime. The same report detailed Airbnb’s cost advantage over the hotel space as homeowners make use of spare bedrooms. Airbnb rates were reported to be between 30-60% cheaper than hotel rates around the world.

The sharing economy has evolved over the past few years where it now serves as an all-encompassing term that refers to a host of on-line economic transactions that may even include business to business (B2B) interactions. Other platforms that have joined the sharing economy include:

• Co-working Platforms - Companies that provide shared open work spaces for freelancers, entrepreneurs, and work-from-home employees in major metropolitan areas.
• Peer-to-Peer Lending Platforms – Companies that allow for individuals to lend money to other individuals at rates cheaper than those offered through traditional credit lending entities.
• Fashion Platforms – Sites that allow for individuals to sell or rent their clothes.
• Freelancing Platforms – Sites that offer to match freelance workers across a wide spectrum ranging from traditional freelance work to services traditionally reserved to handymen.

Spurred primarily with the growth of Uber and Airbnb, it is expected that the sharing economy will grow from $14 billion in 2014 to a forecasted $335 billion by 2025.

Criticism of the sharing economy often involves regulatory uncertainty. Businesses offering rental services are often regulated by federal, state or local authorities; unlicensed individuals offering rental services may not be following these regulations or paying the associated costs, giving them an "unfair" advantage that enables them to charge lower prices.

There is also a fear that the greater amount of information shared on an online platform can create racial and/or gender bias among users. Airbnb had to face racial discrimination complaints from African-American and Latino would-be renters. As more data is presented and the sharing economy evolves, companies within this economy will need to combat bias in both their users and algorithms.