Introduction

Abstract

The growth of the sharing economy is one of the most significant economic and social phenomena of the last decade. At an almost global scale, people are increasingly choosing sharing economy platforms for the supply and demand of services. Reports show that this growth will continue; for example, a study by Juniper Research stated that the sharing economy accounted for more than 18 billion US dollars in 2017 and was expected to double and reach more than 40 billion by 2022. Another study by PricewaterhouseCoopers predicted that by 2025, sales revenues will reach 335 billion US dollars. This book provides a case study of Uber, perhaps the most amblematic company of the sharing economy, from a legal perspective. Legal experts from nine different countries contributed to the project, analyzing legal challenges faced in their jurisdictions.