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Too Good to Be True? A Comment on Hall and Krueger’s Analysis of the Labor Market for Uber’s Driver-Partners

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  • Janine Berg
  • Hannah Johnston

Abstract

In their comment on the article on Uber driver-partners by Jonathan Hall and Alan Krueger, the authors analyze the article’s methodological problems, including sample bias, leading questions, selective reporting of findings, and an overestimation of driver earnings, which do not account for the full range of job-related expenses and is based on outdated data. The authors also argue that Hall and Krueger make unsubstantiated claims that extend beyond the scope of their research and ignore a rapidly growing literature that is critical of the Uber model as well as the broader for-hire vehicle industry in which Uber operates. As policymakers grapple with how to respond to transport network companies, the authors argue that a fuller understanding of the costs and benefits of services such as Uber is critical for making informed policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Janine Berg & Hannah Johnston, 2019. "Too Good to Be True? A Comment on Hall and Krueger’s Analysis of the Labor Market for Uber’s Driver-Partners," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 72(1), pages 39-68, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:72:y:2019:i:1:p:39-68
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Friedland, Julian & Balkin, David B., 2023. "When gig workers become essential: Leveraging customer moral self-awareness beyond COVID-19," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 181-190.
    2. Sanae Tashiro & Stephen Choi, 2021. "Labor market outcomes under digital platform business models in the sharing economy: the case of the taxi services industry," Business Economics, Palgrave Macmillan;National Association for Business Economics, vol. 56(4), pages 240-251, October.
    3. Gideon D. Markman & Marvin Lieberman & Michael Leiblein & Li‐Qun Wei & Yonggui Wang, 2021. "The Distinctive Domain of the Sharing Economy: Definitions, Value Creation, and Implications for Research," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(4), pages 927-948, June.
    4. Angela Garcia Calvo & Martin Kenney & John Zysman, 2023. "Understanding work in the online platform economy: the narrow, the broad, and the systemic perspectives," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 32(4), pages 795-814.
    5. Oliver Alexander & Jeff Borland & Andrew Charlton & Amit Singh, 2022. "The Labour Market for Uber Drivers in Australia," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 55(2), pages 177-194, June.
    6. 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.
    7. Filippo Belloc, 2019. "Why Isn't Uber Worker-Managed? A Model of Digital Platform Cooperatives," CESifo Working Paper Series 7708, CESifo.
    8. 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.
    9. Ashley Baber, 2024. "Labour Market Engineers: Reconceptualising Labour Market Intermediaries with the Rise of the Gig Economy in the United States," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(3), pages 723-743, June.
    10. Oliver Alexander & Jeff Borland & Andrew Charlton & Amit Singh, 2021. "Uber down under: The labour market for drivers in Australia," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2021n18, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    11. Antonio ALOISI & Valerio DE STEFANO, 2020. "Regulation and the future of work: The employment relationship as an innovation facilitator," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 159(1), pages 47-69, March.
    12. Syed Tariq Anwar, 2023. "The sharing economy and collaborative consumption: Strategic issues and global entrepreneurial opportunities," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 60-88, March.
    13. Ismael Gálvez-Iniesta & José L. Groizard & Ferran Portella-Carbó, 2023. "Sharing my place: the local labor market impact of the P2P technology shock," DEA Working Papers 97, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Departament d'Economía Aplicada.
    14. Michael David Maffie, 2020. "Are we ‘sharing’ or ‘gig‐ing’? A classification system for online platforms," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(6), pages 536-555, November.

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