The Shared Economy in the Current Market

¹ Technical University of Kosice, Faculty of Economics, Department of Economic Theories, Nemcovej 32, 040 00 Kosice, Slovakia
² Technical University of Kosice, Department of Engineering Education, Nemcovej 32, 040 00 Kosice, Slovakia

^* Corresponding author: daniela.petrikova@tuke.sk

Abstract

This paper presents the characteristics of the shared economy phenomenon. The theoretical part focuses on the activities of the shared economy in the current international market environment. We describe the categorization of shared economy activities across platforms. We devote ourselves to measuring a shared economy because it also generates many values that are not fully captured in GDP data. The global value of the shared economy is only an estimate. We also deal with threats to the shared economy as these can also be seen as a growing network of unregulated digital markets. These pose a threat to regulated businesses and to consumers. Shared economic platforms are different in national economies. They are highly criticized in some economies because they create unfair competition conditions. They create illegal, black or gray markets or support, for example, tax avoidance. The shared economy also generates many values that are not fully captured in GDP figures. The research part of the paper consists of an UBER analysis in selected countries. At present, UBER is one of the most widespread structures of the shared economy compared to classic taxis. The analysis offers a comparison of the UBER platform, which can bring a new perspective on shared economy issues. The selected indicators are country-specific and collected for two periods: before the UBER come to country and after that.