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An Analysis of the Labor Market for Uber’s Driver-Partners in the United States

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  • Jonathan V. Hall
  • Alan B. Krueger

Abstract

Uber, the ride-sharing company launched in 2010, has grown at an exponential rate. Using both survey and administrative data, the authors provide the first comprehensive analysis of the labor market for Uber’s driver-partners. Drivers appear to be attracted to the Uber platform largely because of the flexibility it offers, the level of compensation, and the fact that earnings per hour do not vary much based on the number of hours worked. Uber’s driver-partners are more similar in terms of their age and education to the general workforce than to taxi drivers and chauffeurs. Most of Uber’s driver-partners had full- or part-time employment before joining Uber, and many continue in those positions after starting to drive with the Uber platform, which makes the flexibility to set their own hours especially valuable. Drivers often cite the desire to smooth fluctuations in their income as one of their reasons for partnering with Uber.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonathan V. Hall & Alan B. Krueger, 2018. "An Analysis of the Labor Market for Uber’s Driver-Partners in the United States," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 71(3), pages 705-732, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:71:y:2018:i:3:p:705-732
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sebastian Butschek & Roberto González Amor & Patrick Kampkötter & Dirk Sliwka, 2019. "Paying Gig Workers - Evidence from a Field Experiment," CESifo Working Paper Series 7983, CESifo.
    2. Mishal Ahmed & Erik Johnson & Byung-Cheol Kim, 2018. "The Impact of Uber and Lyft on Taxi Service Quality: Evidence from New York City," Working Papers 18-16, NET Institute.
    3. Michael David Maffie, 2020. "The Role of Digital Communities in Organizing Gig Workers," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(1), pages 123-149, January.
    4. Katharine G. Abraham & John C. Haltiwanger & Kristin Sandusky & James R. Spletzer, 2017. "Measuring the Gig Economy: Current Knowledge and Open Issues," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring and Accounting for Innovation in the Twenty-First Century, pages 257-298, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Young, Mischa & Farber, Steven, 2019. "The who, why, and when of Uber and other ride-hailing trips: An examination of a large sample household travel survey," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 383-392.
    6. Yao Yao, 2020. "Uberizing the Legal Profession? Lawyer Autonomy and Status in the Digital Legal Market," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(3), pages 483-506, September.
    7. Francesco Bogliacino & Valeria Cirillo & Cristiano Codagnone & Marta Fana & Francisco Lupanez-Villanueva & Giuseppe A Veltri, 2019. "Shaping individual preferences for social protection: the case of platform workers," LEM Papers Series 2019/21, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    8. Sun, Hao & Wang, Hai & Wan, Zhixi, 2019. "Model and analysis of labor supply for ride-sharing platforms in the presence of sample self-selection and endogeneity," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 76-93.
    9. Maarten Goos & Melanie Arntz & Ulrich Zierahn & Terry Gregory & Stephanie Carretero Gomez & Ignacio Gonzalez Vazquez & Koen Jonkers, 2019. "The Impact of Technological Innovation on the Future of Work," JRC Working Papers on Labour, Education and Technology 2019-03, Joint Research Centre.
    10. Michael David Maffie, 2022. "The global ‘hot shop’: COVID‐19 as a union organising catalyst," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 207-219, May.
    11. Wang, Hai & Yang, Hai, 2019. "Ridesourcing systems: A framework and review," Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 122-155.
    12. Chris Warhurst & Wil Hunt, 2019. "The Digitalisation of Future Work and Employment. Possible impact and policy responses," JRC Working Papers on Labour, Education and Technology 2019-05, Joint Research Centre.
    13. Michael David Maffie, 2023. "The mythology of ‘Big Data’ as a source of corporate power," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(3), pages 674-696, September.
    14. Filippo Belloc, 2019. "Why Isn't Uber Worker-Managed? A Model of Digital Platform Cooperatives," CESifo Working Paper Series 7708, CESifo.
    15. Prateek Bansal & Akanksha Sinha & Rubal Dua & Ricardo Daziano, 2019. "Eliciting Preferences of Ridehailing Users and Drivers: Evidence from the United States," Papers 1904.06695, arXiv.org.
    16. Michael David Maffie, 2023. "Becoming a pirate: Independence as an alternative to exit in the gig economy," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(1), pages 46-67, March.
    17. Anat Bracha & Mary A. Burke, 2018. "The ups and downs of the gig economy, 2015–2017," Working Papers 18-12, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    18. Young, Mischa & Farber, Steven, 2019. "The Who, Why, and When of Uber and other Ride-hailing Trips: An Examination of a Large Sample Household Travel Survey," OSF Preprints x7ryj, Center for Open Science.
    19. Michael David Maffie, 2024. "Visible hands: How gig companies shape workers' exposure to market risk," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(1), pages 59-79, January.

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