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> Isn't this "gig economy" thing weird? Isn't it strange that people don't have stable long term employment? What's up with that? Is it good? If you look at it
by notthemessiah 9y ago
> Isn't this "gig economy" thing weird? Isn't it strange that people don't have stable long term employment? What's up with that? Is it good?
If you look at it purely from the perspective of economic theory, stable long-term employment is weirder than everybody being an individual contractor. Ronald Coase asks the question "Why do firms even exist in the first place?" [1] and comes to the conclusion that many transaction costs come along with marketplaces, and firms may be well-suited for dealing with those transaction costs internally. In this light, It may be observed that the gig economy firms "solve" transaction cost sub-problems, eradicating the bulwark of the firm and exposing the would-be workers to the competitive forces of the marketplace.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nature_of_the_Firm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nature_of_the_Firm
- ghaff 9y agoFurthermore, people wring their hands over the gig economy mostly in some specific contexts like Uber drivers. They’re shedding far fewer tears for their plumber who isn’t available for another month.
- notthemessiah 9y agoIt should be noted that Uber isn't cheaper to operate than a cab, they are just operating at a loss to destroy the taxi industry. As soon as it's done with that, prices should rise.
- mixmastamyk 9y agoYes, though they are avoiding permit fees as well.
- notthemessiah 9y agoPermit fees don't come out of nowhere, they come out of the transaction costs of finding reputable drivers, a cost that Uber is rediscovering.
- hodl 9y agoIn the context of sw devs of course the "getting up to speed with the codebase" is such a cost. So hiring them for a short gig (unless its Greenfield) is kinda expensive