In this paper, we assess the impact of the arrival and expansion of Airbnb on housing rents and prices in the city of Barcelona. Examining highly detailed data on rents and both transaction and posted prices, we use several econometric approaches that exploit the exact timing and geography of...

Present economy and society are under a “digital revolution”. Digital platforms connect service and product suppliers to recipients all around the world creating new businesses and changing business models in place. Old-fashioned informal gig-economy and sharing practices by using the new...

For many years, the European Union (EU) has treated online platforms like any other business, using existing policy tools and regulatory approaches whenever it interacted with them. More recently, but especially during the Juncker Commission (2014-2019), this position has evolved significantly....

Online labour platforms matching labour supply and demand are profoundly modifying the world of work. Businesses use them to outsource tasks to a world-wide pool of workers; while workers can access work opportunities transcending national boundaries. Increasingly, workers are located in...

A multi-sided platform can only succeed if a critical mass of users can join. This is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for a platform's success. However, there is a limited understanding of the factors that contribute to reaching such critical mass. In this study we identify ways to...

This article uses the example of one of the best-known global payment systems provided by an online platform, PayPal, to analyze the role of private legal orders in creating new markets beyond jurisdictional borders. It shows that a relatively uniform legal order reduces risks involved in...

Our submission to the U.K. House of Lords, Internal Market Sub-Committee is based on our joint research, which explores the effects Big Data and technology have on competition dynamics. It reviews the use of technology to facilitate collusion, conscious parallelism, and unilateral price...

The Internet is a shared resource, a cooperative network built out of millions of hosts all over the world. Its popularity is unquestionable and the necessity is enormous. However, the Internet is becoming a headache for intellectual property right holders. The advent of file-sharing technology...