Who Benefits from Online Gig Economy Platforms?
研究发现，尽管在线零工平台求职者远多于岗位，工人仍能获得大部分交易剩余，因为需求方搜索摩擦和工人差异化减少了直接竞争；而传统劳动法规会降低平台效率，损害所有参与者。
Online labor platforms for short-term remote work have many more job seekers than available jobs. Despite their relative abundance, workers capture a substantial share of the surplus from transactions. We draw this conclusion from demand estimates that imply workers’ wages include significant markups over costs and a survey that validates our surplus estimates. Workers retain a significant share of the surplus because demand-side search frictions and worker differentiation reduce direct competition. Finally, we show that applying traditional employment regulations to online gig economy platforms would lower job posting and hiring rates, reducing aggregate surplus for all market participants, including workers.