The Evolution of the Online Platform Economy: Evidence from Five Years of Banking Data
Measuring the gig economy has been challenging. Drawing on anonymized administrative banking data, we measure supply side participation in the online platform economy between 2013 and 2018. We find 2.3 million account holders who received payments from 128 transportation, non transport work, selling, and leasing platforms. Participation grew rapidly, particularly in the transportation sector. Average monthly revenues declined among drivers and increased among lessors even within metro areas. At least a third and likely more of the decline in transportation revenues is driven by decreases in hours worked. These findings raise important policy questions and motivate promising directions for future work.
AEA Papers and Proceedings