Deleøkonomiens udfordringer på det danske marked: Med fokus på Uber og den danske taxibranchen

Abstract

Since the early 2000’s, sharing economy has experienced an explosive growth all over the world. The concept of sharing economy, is based on people sharing underused assets or services on a private business platform provided by a company. Shared economy has expanded to areas such as spare rooms and apartments, music and movies, and transportation. The development of the Internet and smartphones has made it possible for companies to create digital platforms connecting buyers with sellers. Companies like Uber and Airbnb have over the last 5-10 years gone from nothing to world-wide multibillion dollar companies. Shared economy provides the opportunity to lent, rent or buy products at lower prices than at normal rental companies. Also the concept provides an opportunity for private consumers to earn extra money from assets already at their disposal. Opponents fear that it might outmatch established industries like the taxi industry on a base of unfair competition, tax avoidance, and especially in Denmark, undermine basic labour rights. Despite these fears, experts are praising the concept of shared economy and the sustainability initiatives it brings. At this point little to no attention has been devoted to regulating the sharing economy, causing issues at especially the taxi industry where the American company Uber has had caused confrontations and debates. This thesis aims to fill the gap by mapping how Danish authorities are handling regulatory issues concerning the most controversial of the sharing economy companies, Uber. The question is whether the most efficient way of handling this issue is at an EU-level or at national-level? With this question in mind, we will analyse potential consequences of different regulatory strategies and combine the legal focus with an economic analysis of the effects of Uber and shared economy in general. We will use our analysis to provide three scenarios of how to handle the shared economy and Uber in Denmark and provide a conclusion including our suggestion for the optimal outcome.