Regulating the Sharing Economy

We hope you’ll join us on Monday for a discussion on the issues and potential challenges of regulating the sharing economy. Dr. Robert Murray will be speaking at this session along with Darren Thomas and Nancy Jacobsen. We caught up Dr. Murray to get his perspective on the issues government faces in regulating the sharing economy.

IPAC Impact Blog: What is the sharing economy?

Dr. Murray: The Sharing Economy is a socio-economic system that has emerged over the last 10-15 years that enables people to share resources, commodities, or services. 

IPAC Impact Blog: Who participates and why?

Dr. Murray: The Sharing Economy enables sharing among a number of groups, and in many cases, motivation is based on ease of sharing, perceived benefit, access to a new or innovative approach to an industry, and is highly technological in nature.

IPAC Impact Blog: What is the overall impact on the economy?

Dr. Murray: It’s too soon to say in terms of a quantifiable calculation, in my opinion. The greatest impact thus far has been on our perceptions of industry control, regulation, competition, and governance.

IPAC Impact Blog: How can government regulate the sharing economy to ensure safety, competitiveness, tax compliance, etc.?

Dr. Murray: The first step is for government to understand *why* the services that fall under the Sharing Economy have become so popular, so quickly. By identifying the variables that have made the Sharing Economy popular for consumers, government can better determine how to approach regulatory issues without fundamentally interfering or eliminating the most benefit-driven aspects of the Sharing Economy. 

IPAC Impact Blog: What kind of challenges does the sharing economy pose to governments?

Dr. Murray: Quite a number, including statutory authority, regulatory development and compliance, oversight, registration, etc.

The sharing economy is an major phenomenon that we’re looking forward to discussing further. If you haven’t registered yet, go to https://www.ipac.ca/edmonton/registration-policyforbreakfast to sign up. Also, stay tuned to the blog where we will provide a summary of the key issues and ideas discussed at this event.