Regulating Uber: The Politics of the Platform Economy in Europe and the United States
Author(s)
Thelen, Kathleen
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I use the case of the transportation network company Uber as a lens to explore the comparative politics of the platform economy in Europe and the United States. Within the advanced capitalist world, different countries have responded in very different ways to this new service, from welcome embrace and accommodating regulatory adjustments to complete rejection and legal bans. I analyze Uber’s arrival and reception in the United States, Germany, and Sweden, documenting three very different responses to this disruptive new actor. I show that conflicts over Uber centered on different issues in the three countries. These differences were consequential because the specific regulatory “flashpoints”that Uber provoked mobilized different actors, inspired the formation of different coalitions, and shaped the terms on which conflicts over Uber were framed and fought.
Date issued
2018-11Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Political ScienceJournal
Perspectives on Politics
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Citation
Thelen, Kathleen. "Regulating Uber: The Politics of the Platform Economy in Europe and the United States." Perspectives on Politics 16, 4 (November 2018): 938-953 © American Political Science Association 2018
Version: Author's final manuscript
ISSN
1537-5927
1541-0986