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Assessing the size and presence of the collaborative economy in Europe
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Assessing the size and presence of the collaborative economy in Europe

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We have been asked by DG GROW to assess the size and presence of the collaborative economy in Europe. For the purposes of this exercise we assessed five key sectors of the collaborative economy that facilitate transactions through an online platform : - Peer-to-peer accommodation: households sharing access to unused space in their home or renting out a holiday home to travellers - Peer-to-peer transportation: individuals sharing a ride, car or parking space with others - On-demand household services: freelancer marketplaces enabling households to access on-demand support with household tasks such as food delivery and DIY - On demand professional services: freelancer marketplaces enabling businesses to access on-demand support with skills such as administration, consultancy and accountancy - Collaborative finance: individuals and businesses who invest, lend and borrow directly between each other, such as crowd-funding and peer-to-peer lending We estimate these five key sectors of the collaborative economy generated revenues of nearly €4bn and facilitated €28bn of transactions within Europe in 2015. Our findings show that growth in both revenues and transaction values has accelerated since 2013 – at a pace which has significantly exceeded our expectations from our 2014 global study. We estimate that last year, these platforms doubled their revenues in Europe. We find a thriving collaborative economy start-up scene across Europe – and estimate that at least 275 collaborative economy platforms have been founded in the region to date. We also find evidence for a relatively small – but quickly growing – participation in the collaborative economy across European consumers, as both users and providers. Finally, we describe some of the key movements in the policy and regulatory landscape affecting the collaborative economy across member states. Our high-level review highlights how significant differences have opened up in the regulatory framework applied to collaborative economy enterprises across Europe. A wide spectrum of regulatory and tax policies has emerged, accompanied by varying levels of application and enforcement. Overall, our findings strengthen our point of view that the collaborative economy has now become a deep socio-economic trend that is fundamentally changing the way we live our lives. From freelancing platforms changing the way we work to food-sharing platforms changing the way we share and connect in local communities, collaborative economy businesses are leading to new economic and social interactions within member states and across Europe as a whole. While the rapid development of these platforms should be considered as an economic opportunity for European economies to foster sustainable and more widely-spread growth, it poses significant challenges for policy makers and regulators to keep up.In developing this report, we hope to inform the development of a policy, regulatory and legislative environment for the collaborative economy across Europe that balances the needs of consumers with regional priorities for competitiveness, innovation and growth. However, developing such a framework will require a much deeper understanding of national regulatory frameworks, measuring and monitoring the impact of the different approaches that are employed and enhanced coordination and knowledge sharing at a regional level. It will also require much greater collaboration – both between member states – and between policy makers and collaborative economy platforms.
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ISBN 978-92-79-67026-8
DOI 10.2873/971404
Numéro de catalogue ET-01-17-259-EN-N
PDF
ISSN ISBN 978-92-79-67026-8 DOI 10.2873/971404 Numéro de catalogue ET-01-17-259-EN-N
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