Perry Work Report: work&labour news&research, June 10, 2016

June 10, 2016

Announcement:

The countdown is on -- and we need you!

Next week, on Friday June 17, 2016, the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources will celebrate its 50th anniversary. We invite all our alumni to be a part of this milestone by sharing favourite memories of the CIRHR. Please write to us at cirhr.library@utoronto.ca with a few words by Wednesday June 15, 2016 so they can be shared at the CIRHR 50th Anniversary Celebration: The Face of Work: Honouring the Past and Charting a Future for IR/HR Research and Practice.   

Thank you to everyone who has written to us so far!

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Research Roundup: Uber, Airbnb and Consequences of the Sharing Economy

“The implications of the sharing economy -- part of what has also been termed the 'gig economy' -- have of course been hotly debated in the news media, and the research world has been steadily weighing in with deeper analysis. One central area of argument relates to whether the sharing economy is simply bringing more wage-earning opportunities to more people, or whether its net effect is the displacement of traditionally secure jobs and the creation of a land of part-time, low-paid work. It’s a debate that continues to develop and play out, forcing reporters to weigh competing claims that vary in tone from boosterism to warnings of the new economy’s 'dark side.'”

“While the conclusions about the overall effects of this sector are anything but clear, even as more data pour in, it is worth digging into the available literature and knowing the centers of research debate and lines of argument.”

Journalist’s Resource, Shorenstein Center, Harvard, June 3, 2016:  “Uber, Airbnb and consequences of the sharing economy: Research roundup” (provides links to current research papers on the sharing economy)

What is the sharing economy?

“What is the Sharing Economy? Coming up with a solid definition of the sharing economy that reflects common usage is nearly impossible. There is great diversity among activities as well as baffling boundaries drawn by participants. TaskRabbit, an 'errands' site, is often included, but Mechanical Turk (Amazon’s online labor market) is not. Airbnb is practically synonymous with the sharing economy, but traditional bed and breakfasts are left out. Lyft, a ride service company, claims to be in, but Uber, another ride service company, does not. Shouldn’t public libraries and parks count? When I posed these questions to a few sharing innovators, they were pragmatic, rather than analytical: self-definition by the platforms and the press defines who is in and who is out.”

Great Transition Initiative, 2014: “Debating the Sharing Economy,” by Juliet Schor

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Airbnb's Impacts on Housing Affordability

“Tens of thousands of tourists from across Canada and around the world visit Vancouver each year. In response to the demand for accommodation, a growing number of Vancouverites are listing their condos and homes for short-term rental on Airbnb and other websites where property owners can rent out a temporary space. But with the vacancy rate at under one per cent, the growing popularity of short-term rentals is driving some residents out of town. And the problem is not unique to Vancouver. It’s also hitting Toronto and Montreal, where the number of Airbnb listings is growing.”

CBC Radio’s The Current, March 2, 2016: “Vancouver Airbnb listings increase as rental vacancies fall below 1 per cent”

Inside Airbnb: “How is Airbnb really being used in and affecting the neighbourhoods of your city?”

“While there are undoubtedly many hosts who benefit from Airbnb, cities around the world have heard reports of long-term tenants being displaced as property owners convert affordable housing to unlicenced online hotels. Hosts who convert long-term rentals to short-term rentals (hereafter LTR and STR) reduce the availability of affordable rental housing; in Vancouver these hosts also violate municipal bylaws(see next section). Because Airbnb conceals the location and identity of commercial hosts, it has proved difficult to impossible for municipalities to track violations or enforce restrictions on STRs. Unlike other businesses operating in Vancouver, there is no public record of where Airbnb’s operations are taking place, and no effective means to enforce Vancouver bylaw.”

Affordable Vancouver, June 1, 2016: “Airbnb’s Impacts on Housing Affordability in Vancouver: Full Report,” by Iain Marjoribanks (21 pages, PDF)

Affordable Vancouver, June 1, 2016: “Airbnb’s Impacts on Housing Affordability in Vancouver,” by Iain Marjoribanks

The Globe and Mail, June 6, 2016: “Vancouver’s top Airbnb earners are commercial hosts: research,” by Frances Bula

The Globe and Mail, March 30, 2016: “Vancouver urged to clamp down on Airbnb as low-cost housing dwindles,” Frances Bula

“Daye Crouse and her three kids started renting a place in Lunenburg when she found a full time job there last October. She said she pays about $850 a month in rent. But when her lease is up on June 15, the owners will be renting it out for $1200 a week during the summer.”

CBC News, April 27, 2016: Airbnb’s popularity and lack of affordable housing frustrates South Shore renters,” by Nina Corfu

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Introducing Digital Matching Firms

“Already, we have the following:”

“the sharing economy - the gig economy - the platform economy - the on-demand economy - the peer economy - the Uber economy - the networked economy - the bottom-up economy - the collaborative economy - the new digital economy”

“[’Digital matching firms’] is the phrase the US Department of Commerce has settled on, according to a paper it released June 3. It’s proposing four ‘defining characteristics’ of these firms”:

  • “Digital matching fims use information technology (IT systems), typically available via web-based platforms such as mobile 'apps' on Internet-enabled devices, to facilitate peer-to-peer transactions.”
  • “Digital matching firms rely on user-based rating systems for quality control, ensuring a level of trust between consumers and service providers who have not previously met.”
  • “Individuals who provide services via digital matching platforms have flexibility in deciding their typical working hours.”
  • “To the extent that tools and assets are necessary to provide a service, digital matching firms rely on the workers using their own.”

Quartz, June 6, 2016: “The US government’s new name for the sharing economy is the worst one yet,” by Alison Griswold

US Department of Commerce, June 3, 2016: “Digital Matching Firms: A New Definition in the “Sharing Economy” Space” (27 pages, PDF)

PR Newswire, June 3, 2016: “U.S. Department of Commerce Releases New Report on Digital Matching Firms”

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Child Labour in Canadian Products

“A new report says Canadian consumers may be unwittingly buying goods made by child labourers.”

“And those who want to make ethical buying decisions are largely in the dark about what companies are doing to prevent child labour in their supply chains, says the World Vision Canada report.”

“The organization is calling for a new law to force companies that do business in Canada to report annually on the measures they take to ensure that factories in other countries aren’t using minors to make products for the Canadian marketplace. Similar legislation exists in other jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom and California; the U.S. Congress is reviewing a proposed federal law.”

The Globe and Mail, June 9, 2016: “Canadians unwittingly buying goods made by children: report,” by Jordan Press

“More than $34 billion in Canadian products each year may have child or forced labour in their supply chains. Yet half of these companies are saying little or nothing about their efforts to address labour abuses. We can and must do better.“

World Vision Canada, June 8, 2016: “Supply Chain Risk Report: Child and forced labour in Canadian consumer products” (19 pages, PDF)

World Vision Canada “No Child For Sale” Research Hub

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Canada Signs the ILO's Minimum Age Convention, 1973

“Canada has added its signature to an international treaty that aims to reduce child labour around the world.”

“The treaty, known as the International Labour Organization’s Minimum Age Convention, 1973, requires ratifying member states to set a minimum age for employment of at least 15 years. It also bans hazardous work for young workers under the age of 18, unless specific measures are put in place.”

“A statement from Mihychuk’s office early Wednesday said ratifying the treaty is ‘not expected to negatively impact Canadian businesses and operations such as family farms, or part-time work by Canadian teens working at babysitting, camp counselling or other similar jobs.’"

“The treaty is scheduled to take effect in June 2017.”

CTV News, June 8, 2016: “Canada signs international treaty aimed at reducing child labour”

“Agreements with the world’s most advanced and fastest growing economies allow Canada to exact monetary penalties where child labour is practised. (A labour agreement with Colombia, for example, allows Canada to demand up to $15 million.)”

“However, documents obtained by The Canadian Press under the access to information say Canada has little experience in ensuring that international partners meet the binding labour obligations outlined in trade deals. The background material prepared by the labour program at Employment and Social Development Canada last year also says dispute resolution and processes around financial penalties are untested internationally.”

The Toronto Star, June 2, 2016: “Canada has little experience enforcing trade deal provisions against child labour: documents,” by Jordan Press

World Day Against Child Labour 2016

“This year, the focus for World Day Against Child Labour -- marked on 12 June -- is on child labour and supply chains. With 168 million children still in child labour, all supply chains, from agriculture to manufacturing, services to construction, run the risk that child labour may be present.”

“To support businesses in their actions to remove child labour from their supply chains, the ILO and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) have jointly created the Child Labour Guidance Tool, a resource for companies to increase their knowledge and ability to conduct business in line with international labour standards on child labour.”  

International Labour Organization, June 7, 2016: “ILO: Ending child labour in supply chains is everyone’s business”

International Labour Organization: World Day Against Child Labour 2016

International Labour Organization: Child Labour Platform (CLP)

International Labour Organization, December 15, 2015: “How to do business with respect for children’s’ right to be free from child labour: ILO-IOE child labour guidance tool for business”

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Decent Work or Entrenched Exploitation for Canada's Migrant Workers?

“For the approximately 600,000 migrants currently working in Canada, changes made to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program program in 2014 have left them more vulnerable to exploitation and have further narrowed their access to permanent residence.”

“[Canada’s Choice: Decent Work or Entrenched Exploitation for Canada’s Migrant Workers?, the latest report from human rights lawyer and Innovation Fellow Fay Faraday,] details the continued exploitation faced by migrant workers -- including unscrupulous recruitment practices, employment mobility restrictions, and a lack of protection from rights abuses -- and provides clear policy recommendations to strengthen protections and build employment security for Canada’s migrant workers.”

“Canada’s Choice is also part of a submission to the Parliamentary Committee that is currently studying the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. With Canada’s labour migration policy at a crossroads, we hope that this timely report will contribute to informing the public discourse and lead to comprehensive reforms that enforce the rights of some of our nation’s most vulnerable workers.”

Metcalf Foundation, June 8, 2016: “Canada’s Choice: Decent Work or Entrenched Exploitation for Canada’s Migrant Workers,” by Fay Faraday

Metcalf Foundation, June 2016: “Canada’s Choice: Decent Work or Entrenched Exploitation for Canada’s Migrant Workers Full Report,” by Fay Faraday (70 pages, PDF)

Metcalf Foundation, June 8, 2016: “Migrant workers more precarious now than before 2014 “reforms”: Report,“ (2 pages, PDF)

“Teta Bayan is a migrant worker in North York from the Philippines and a member of Caregivers Action Centre”:

“’If we quit a bad job or are fired for asking for our rights, our lives are hell. Even if we find a new employer, and can somehow stay in the country, getting new permits costs thousands of dollars and takes up to a year. During this year we are not legally allowed to work.’”

“’When we are working, our wages are often stolen. Most migrant workers work 12 to 13 hours a day, but few of us get paid for more than eight at minimum wage. Some get paid a much lower rate. For example, over two years that can work out to $15,000 in lost wages for a caregiver.’”

The Globe and Mail, May 24, 2016: “I was bumped from speaking to the House. I need to say this: Migrant workers need better rights,” by Teta Bayan

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Doing Right by South African Firefighters in Canada

“After less than a week on the job, 300 South African firefighters in Alberta have gone on strike in a pay dispute. All of the firefighters have been “demobilized” since the strike, and some or all of them will be flown home, their managers say. ... They are angry that they are receiving an allowance of only $15 a day during their Canadian deployment, in addition to their South African salaries, despite promises of additional money.”

“’The organization running the South Africans tried to put these guys back on the bus when they got to camp, with the goal of getting them out of the country before the rest of the South Africans found out about the pay. They blocked the bus and didn’t let that happen.’”

The Globe and Mail, June 9, 2016: “South African firefighters in Alberta ‘demobilized’ over pay dispute,” by Justin Giovannetti and Geoffrey York

“Within Canada, wildfire crews tasked with fighting fires in other provinces receive what they normally would in their home province ... Outside of Canada, lending agencies set their own rates and it’s up to the receiving agency to determine whether to accept the help.”

“The South African firefighting program is unique in that it is a government-funded project to provide jobs to unemployed young people and its normal pay in South Africa is below the minimum wage. Last year, the organization simply charged an amount that covered its costs and an estimate of a fair allowance to the South Africans based on their local standards, Mr. Pillay said. The firefighters were grateful for the experience of working in Canada and they weren’t worried about the pay levels, he said.”

“But at the end of the mission, Mr. Pillay said the CIFFC told him: ‘You can’t charge the South African rate. It has to be fair and equitable from a Canadian standard.’”

The Globe and Mail, June 1, 2016: “South African firefighters in Alberta to see salary increase,” by Geoffry York and Andrea Woo

The Toronto Star, June 2, 2016: “Canada gives young South African firefighters unexpected raise,” by Max Bearak

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CEOs Who Don't Deserve the Cheque

“The CEOs with the weakest total shareholder return (TSR) performance in 2015 and the highest total direct compensation.”

Doug Suttles
Encana Corp.
TSR: -55.1%
Compensation: $10.8-million

Scott Saxberg
Crescent Point Energy Corp.
TSR: -34.5%
Compensation: $8.8-million

Brian Ferguson
Cenovus Energy Inc.
TSR: -23.8%
Compensation: $7.5-million

Charles Jeannes
Goldcorp Inc.
TSR: -23.5%
Compensation: $8.9-million

Hunter Harrison
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.
TSR: -20.5%
Compensation: $18.7-million

Al Monaco
Enbridge Inc.
TSR: -20.4%
Compensation: $7.1-million

Russell Girling
TransCanada Corp.
TSR: -17.4%
Compensation: $8.5-million

Michael Pearson
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.
TSR: -16.4%
Compensation: $181.9-million

“Note: Dollar amounts have been converted to Canadian dollars when reported in U.S. dollars. Source: Global Governance Advisors and The Globe and Mail”

The Globe and Mail, June 3, 2016: “The CEOs with the best pay, but worst stock performance,” Jeff McIntosh/CP

The Globe and Mail, June 3, 2016: “Pay vs. performance: How do Canada’s CEOs stack up?” An interactive analysis tool from Global Governance Advisors

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The Oilsands Battle Over Random Drug Testing

“Oilsands giant Suncor Energy has won the latest round in its push to randomly test thousands of workers for drugs and alcohol in northern Alberta.”

“A Court of Queen’s Bench judge has quashed a 2014 arbitration panel ruling that determined the proposed testing plan would violate the privacy of union workers. The judge says the panel should have considered evidence about alcohol and drug incidents involving all workers at Suncor, including non-union contract employees. Blair says a new arbitration panel should review the company’s random testing plan, which Suncor first announced in 2012.”

“Suncor Energy spokeswoman Sneh Seetal said the company is pleased with Nixon’s ruling. She said random testing aims to protect the safety of the public, workers and the environment. The union, which represents about 3,800 workers at Suncor, said the company already has a comprehensive drug and alcohol policy that includes post-incident and reasonable cause testing. It said that policy is not affected by the ongoing litigation over the random testing plan.”

CBC News, May 19, 2016: “Suncor random drug tests allowed, Alberta judge rules"

“Although this decision was rendered in Alberta, it is of significant importance for enterprises operating in safety-sensitive contexts all across Canada. It is true that labour arbitration panels and judicial tribunals will be tempted to interpret the principles elaborated in Irving narrowly, in the name of employee privacy rights. However, employers must bear in mind that given the right circumstances, it will be possible to impose random drug and alcohol testing and have their serious safety concerns prevail over employee privacy rights.”

Norton Rose Fulbright, June 2016: “Suncor wins this round in the battle over random drug testing, but the battle is not over,” by Erin M. Ludwig

Borden Ladner Gervais, June 1, 2016: “Alberta Court quashes decision of Alberta Labour Board panel rejecting random drug testing at oil sands site,” by Laurie M. Robson    

Lexology, May 20, 2016: “Update-Alberta Court Considers Random Drug Testing,” by Walter Pavlic and Leanne Hosfield Harding

Lexology, May 30, 2016: “Suncor Clears Important Hurdle in Implementation of Random Alcohol and Drug Testing in Alberta,” by Birch Miller and Bruce Graham

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The Secret to More Women on Company Boards? Women!

“Women in positions of power have a lot less trouble than men at finding other female executives for key roles, according to an analysis of 1,000 U.S. corporate boardrooms.”

“When women hold key leadership posts like chief executive officer or board chairman, companies have women in more than 27 per cent of director seats, compared with less than 18 per cent when men are in charge, according to a study released Monday by the advocacy group 2020 Women on Boards. The group wants women to hold at least 20 per cent of all board seats at U.S. companies by 2020, up from 17.9 per cent now. Almost 90 per cent of businesses led by women already meet that goal.”

The Toronto Star, June 7, 2016: “The secret to more women on company boards? Women,” by Jeff Green

2020 Women on Boards, 2016: “Boardroom Diversity: When Women Lead” (7 pages, PDF)

2020 Women on Boards website

Bloomberg, June 6, 2016: “A Seat at the Table: Mandating Gender Diversity?” (4:42 minutes, video)

Ontario Leads the Way

“The Ontario government is setting a gender diversity target that would see at least 40 per cent women appointed to every provincial board and agency by 2019 as a way of leading by example.”

“Kathleen Wynne’s government is responding to recommendations in a major report by Catalyst, a non-profit organization advocating advancement of women in business and government. It has accepted all 11 of them. The Catalyst report -- Gender Diversity on Boards in Canada -- was released Tuesday morning at an event at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. Ms. Wynne and Finance Minister Charles Sousa were there.”

“In its report, Catalyst says the most ‘efficient way’ to improve female representation is to establish targets. The report recommends that boards that now have one female director boost that to 30 per cent female representation by the end of 2017; there should be written policies as to how companies will increase representation. Once businesses have accepted the targets they should achieve their goals within three to five years.”

“In addition, boards should review their recruitment policies so that lists of potential candidates are at least 50 per cent female -- and at least half of those interviewed for those positions should be women, including those from diverse communities.”

The Globe and Mail, June 7, 2016: “Ontario wants at least 40 per cent women on provincial boards by 2019,” by Janet Taber

Catalyst, June 7, 2016: “Gender Diversity on Boards in Canada: Recommendations for Accelerating Progress” (40 pages, PDF)

The Globe and Mail, June 7, 2016: “Ontario cabinet minister stepping down for gender parity,” Allison Jones

 

Meanwhile, at Tim Hortons Owner RBI...

“Tim Hortons Inc. had a 12-member board with three women before Burger King acquired the company in late 2014. When the new company, Restaurant Brands International Inc., rolled out its leadership, its 10-member board was all-male. This year, the company had an opportunity to name at least one female director -- and did not, choosing to add another man instead. Restaurant Brands is one of just two companies in the S&P/TSX 60 with no women on the board.”

“Enough is enough, says shareholder OceanRock Investments Inc., which has placed a resolution on the Restaurant Brands proxy statement calling for a written board diversity policy, which the company also lacks.”

The Globe and Mail, June 8, 2016: “With no women on its board, shareholder calls for diversity policy at Tim Hortons owner RBI,” by David Milstead

The Toronto Star, June 8, 2016: “Restaurant Brands under fire for no women on board,” by Lisa Wright

CBC News, June 8, 2016: “Shareholder pushes for gender diversity at Tim Hortons parent company”

“Other shareholders voted to reject the proposal.”

“The result wasn’t unexpected, Pinto said in an interview following the vote. The group will now wait to see how many independent shareholders supported their proposal as more detailed results are released in the next few days.”

The Toronto Star, June 9, 2016: “Tim Hortons parent company shareholders reject gender diversity proposal,” by Aleksandra Sagan

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Corporate Social Responsibility Pays Off

“A revolution is under way: The profits of large corporations are being jeopardized by social enterprises that use technology and innovation to solve social problems. The speed with which social entrepreneurs are pulling ahead is astonishing, and there’s an urgent need for big businesses to understand why this happening and what they should do differently.”

“Four factors are contributing to a new competitive context that’s giving companies such as Lucky Iron Fish a considerable advantage -- and giving some of the world’s largest corporations a genuine cause for concern.”

“Technology is providing entrepreneurs with the ability to monetize social products and services and scale quickly.

“Social entrepreneurs also operate without the constraints of head-office bureaucracy or outdated mindsets.”

“Risk avoidance has become the common denominator for decision-making in corporations and is limiting innovation at a time when it’s needed most.”

“According to the Intelligence Group, 64 per cent of millennials say it’s a priority to make the world a better place.”

The Globe and Mail, June 3, 2016: “Big corporations risk falling behind if they don’t work with social enterprises,” by Paul Klein

The Globe and Mail, June 2, 2016: “With every fresh business disruption, a corporate audit committee sweats,” by Kristy Carscallen

“Companies continue to invest in and place importance on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Yet the question remains, how can firms 'do well by doing good'? What are the mechanisms through which CSR influences firm performance? Though studies have examined the role of external stakeholders in linking CSR and firm performance, relatively little attention has been paid to the role of internal stakeholders, despite the importance of human capital to firm performance. In this paper, [Vanessa C. Burbano explores] one mechanism through which firms could do well by doing good: by paying workers less.”

The Huffington Post, June 3, 2016: “Can Companies Pay Less By Doing Good?,” by Vanessa C. Burbano

Organization Science, forthcoming: “Social Responsibility Messages and Worker Wage Requirements: Field Experimental Evidence from Online Labor Marketplaces,” by Vanessa C. Burbano (39 pages, PDF)

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Pressed for Time: In the Depths of the Digital Age

“Virginia Woolf’s serious joke that 'on or about December 1910 human character changed' was a hundred years premature. Human character changed on or about December 2010, when everyone, it seemed, started carrying a smartphone. For the first time, practically anyone could be found and intruded upon, not only at some fixed address at home or at work, but everywhere and at all times. Before this, everyone could expect, in the ordinary course of the day, some time at least in which to be left alone, unobserved, unsustained and unburdened by public or familial roles. That era now came to an end.”

“Many probing and intelligent books have recently helped to make sense of psychological life in the digital age.“
“The explicit common theme of these books is the newly public world in which practically everyone’s lives are newly accessible and offered for display. The less explicit theme is a newly pervasive, permeable, and transient sense of self, in which much of the experience, feeling, and emotion that used to exist within the confines of the self, in intimate relations, and in tangible unchanging objects -- what William James called the “material self” -- has migrated to the phone, to the digital 'cloud,' and to the shape-shifting judgments of the crowd.”

NYRB, June 23, 2016: “In the Depths of the Digital Age,” Edward Mendelson

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Heavy Labor at the Top of the World

“Right now in New York, there are four new skyscrapers whose construction has recently crested the 800-foot mark; together they employ 2,800 people in more than two dozen trades. Here, twelve workers on two of those projects talk about what it’s like to do heavy labor at the top of the world.”

“Jonathan Schulterbrandt / 28, Lather, 3 World Trade Center: Lathers install rebar in concrete and work with wire and metal mesh to create ceilings and walls. ‘You never realize how cold and windy it gets up here. Or how strong the sun gets in summer. It’s us against the elements. I never get tired of looking, though. My favorite view is toward the south and east. You see the beautiful curvature of the Verrazano Bridge.’”

The New York Times, June 5, 2016: “Big Shoulders,” photographs by Jack Davison, interviews by Camille Sweeney

“In a city obsessed with wealth and status, living at supertall altitude is a privilege that only a few dozen New Yorkers enjoy -- at least for now.”

The New York Times, June 5, 2016: “The 800 Club,” by Jon Ronson

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Book of the Week

What's Yours is Mine: Against the Sharing Economy, by Tom Slee. Toronto : Between the Lines, 2016. 212 p. ISBN 9781771132534 (pbk.)

"The news is full of their names, supposedly the vanguard of a rethinking of capitalism. Lyft, Airbnb, Taskrabbit, Uber, and many more companies have a mandate of disruption and upending the "old order" -- and they've succeeded in effecting the "biggest change in the American workforce in over a century," according to former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. But this new wave of technology companies is funded and steered by very old-school venture capitalists. And in What's Yours Is Mine, technologist Tom Slee argues the so-called sharing economy damages development, extends harsh free-market practices into previously protected areas of our lives, and presents the opportunity for a few people to make fortunes by damaging communities and pushing vulnerable individuals to take on unsustainable risk. Drawing on original empirical research, Slee shows that the friendly language of sharing, trust, and community masks a darker reality."

Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus: How Growth Became the Enemy of Prosperity, by Douglas Rushkoff. New York : Portfolio/Penguin, 2016. 278 p. ISBN 9781617230172

"Why doesn't the explosive growth of companies like Facebook and Uber deliver more prosperity for everyone? What is the systemic problem that sets the rich against the poor and the technologists against everybody else? When protesters shattered the windows of a bus carrying Google employees to work, their anger may have been justifiable, but it was misdirected. The true conflict of our age isn't between the unemployed and the digital elite, or even the 99 percent and the 1 percent. Rather, a tornado of technological improvements has spun our economic program out of control, and humanity as a whole--the protesters and the Google employees as well as the shareholders and the executives--are all trapped by the consequences. It's time to optimize our economy for the human beings it's supposed to be serving. In this groundbreaking book, acclaimed media scholar and author Douglas Rushkoff tells us how to combine the best of human nature with the best of modern technology."

The Sharing Economy: the End of Employment and the Rise of Crowd-Based Capitalism, by Arun Sundararajan. Cambridge, MA : The MIT Press, 2016. 240 p. ISBN 9780262034579 (hardcover)

"Sharing isn’t new. Giving someone a ride, having a guest in your spare room, running errands for someone, participating in a supper club -- these are not revolutionary concepts. What is new, in the “sharing economy,” is that you are not helping a friend for free; you are providing these services to a stranger for money. In this book, Arun Sundararajan, an expert on the sharing economy, explains the transition to what he describes as “crowd-based capitalism” -- a new way of organizing economic activity that may supplant the traditional corporate-centered model. As peer-to-peer commercial exchange blurs the lines between the personal and the professional, how will the economy, government regulation, what it means to have a job, and our social fabric be affected? Drawing on extensive research and numerous real-world examples—including Airbnb, Lyft, Uber, Etsy, TaskRabbit, France’s BlaBlaCar, China’s Didi Kuaidi, and India’s Ola, Sundararajan explains the basics of crowd-based capitalism. He describes the intriguing mix of 'gift' and 'market' in its transactions, demystifies emerging blockchain technologies, and clarifies the dizzying array of emerging on-demand platforms. He considers how this new paradigm changes economic growth and the future of work."

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