Latin American Lessons for Europe’s Sharing Economy

Europe has been recently experiencing a new wave of economic disruption driven by the Internet: the so-called Sharing Economy. Companies like Uber, a service that connects drivers and passengers for short-rides, and Airbnb, a short-term apartment and room rental service, want to change how we take taxis and how we do tourism around the Old Continent.

Well-regulated, these services will give the many unemployed or underemployed Europeans the opportunity to make some money out of their spare time, car, room, or house. Regulators and politicians, however, are afraid of the bad consequences that they might have for already regulated markets, where labor conditions, pension contributions, and taxation are clearly stipulated. The recent ban of Uber in Germany is the latest example of an ongoing struggle between innovators and regulators in Europe.

To understand why it is important to accept and regulate the Sharing Economy, one should not look to the Northern but to the Southern Atlantic, where the first sharing economy experiences started. The Sharing Economy is the iPhone version of Latin American informal economy, and the Latin American experience shows why it is important to get the regulation of the Sharing Economy right.

To read the full article, please visit EurActiv online ↪ .