Sharing Economy

David, M.

Abstract

The meaning of a sharing economy is narrowed down in this entry to a discussion of the free sharing of informational goods, rather than the wider domain of direct rental and labor that is often unhelpfully associated with the term. The question of whether free sharing of nonrivalrous informational goods (in the sense of free copying) represents a credible economic model rather than just a parasitic threat to property and market-based models is then examined in terms of the efficiency, efficacy, and incentives created by free sharing relative to property and markets. It is shown that in the domains of music, software, writing, and science a sharing economy is more efficient, effective, and incentivizing.

Citation

David, M. (2019). Sharing Economy. In G. Ritzer, & C. Rojek (Eds.), The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology (1-4). (2nd). Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405165518.wbeos1246

• Online Publication Date: May 23, 2019
• Publication Date: May 23, 2019
• Deposit Date: Jun 12, 2019
• Publisher: Blackwell
• Pages: 1-4
• Edition: 2nd
• Book Title: The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405165518.wbeos1246
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1632047
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781405165518
• Contract Date: May 23, 2019