Dual value production as key to the gig economy puzzle

Abstract

This chapter introduces the notion of “dual value production”, which describes how platforms capture two kinds of value from gig work: the monetary value associated with the service transaction and the more speculative value associated with the data generated during service provision. We elaborate on the construction of data as a specific asset class and consider the process and consequences of data assetisation. Shifting our perspective from the platform to the worker, we subsequently discuss two grassroots initiatives that resist the unbridled data extraction from gig work and attempt to reclaim their data assets. We then we move up the gig economy value chain and examine the role of what we call “meta-platforms”. It is on this level that we are confronted with the true power brokers of the platform economy and we therefore end our chapter by proposing an ambitious set of regulatory and policy measures that could curb this unprecedented power.