ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

Around 10 years have passed since IT-based sharing service providers such as Uber and Airbnb began services. Meanwhile, market size of the sharing business has been expanded rapidly with the appearance of new sharing businesses such as office and computing resources sharing. Economic and business environment is also changing with the development of the sharing businesses. This phenomenon is, sometimes, called a sharing revolution. Theoretical economic models tell us that consumers as well as firms benefits from the sharing behavior since the sharing service providers benefit consumers, in the long-run, by promoting competition among firms and by providing many differentiated services. But, in reality, sharing business is now faced with the resistance of the existing firms. Some unexpected negative effects have been reported as well. First, most of the sharing service providers and some workers in this area are suffering from loss due to the excess competition in the short-run. It is reported that car-sharing companies including Uber and Turo are losing money from their service. It is also reported that some of Uber drivers are losing money rather than making it. Second, sharing business makes it harder for the governments to implement their policies. For example, Uber is threatening the taxi license system by allowing drivers to provide a similar service without the license. Blockchain-based Bitcoin is another example in that it is developed to avoid government intervention. Third, there are worries that long-term leasing is decreasing because of the house-sharing and, as a result, residential environment may deteriorate due to the decreasing long-term residents. In spite of the above negative effects, most of the foreign governments now allow various sharing businesses. It is not possible without admitting the positive effects of the sharing businesses. On the other hand, sharing businesses such as Uber, Turo and Airbnb are not allowed in Korea because of the legal barriers. Considering a position of the European Commission that banning sharing business must be confined to the cases when it is against the public interests, it is time to find customized policies to encourage the sharing businesses while mitigating their negative effects.

키워드