Great Throughts Treasury

"Do not underestimate the transformative power of truly modern markets."

"Expect policymakers to progressively accept that irregular working is the new normal. They are likely to start pulling levers and directing public spending in ways that reward longer-term, wider-scope sharecon ventures. And that’s where the big technology companies come in. Policymakers may be sensitive about employment issues. But they are typically horror-struck at any hint of an ambitious public sector IT program. (Hello, Obamacare exchanges in the U.S. and Universal Credit systems in Britain.) A system like CEDAH shouldn’t be funded, designed, or run by government. Like national lotteries, it can be initiated through a concession to commercial operators who bear the risks in return for rewards that—with good execution—can be extremely attractive."

"Like it or not, governments are the sleeping giant of the sharing economy. History suggests they will wake up. Look at fundamental technologies like electricity, rail, water supply, and broadcasting. All started with an uncoordinated pioneering stage of multiple service, regulatory, and business models. All moved to standardization and universality after policy was aligned with a vision for their potential. There is demand in the legitimate economy for irregular local hires that could total an additional 5 percent of GDP, all directed at people who need it most. Helping leaders at city, regional, or national levels see that it can be unleashed by the right platform is a challenge waiting for the tech sector."

"What can governments do to boost the sharing economy? What would be their incentive to do so? Where are the commercial opportunities if public policy were to fully embrace sharing transactions? I have spent 20 years writing, consulting, and overseeing publicly funded projects based on these questions. The answers in brief: governments are potentially the biggest buyers of fragmented labor, its regulators, setters of tax/welfare codes, administrators of databases of record, and ideally will serve as marketing machines for economic initiatives. Aligning all this with a vision for the most efficient sharing economy imaginable could profoundly reshape this emerging sector."

"A modern market is more than a website; it's a web of interoperable marketplaces, back office mechanisms, regulatory regimes, settlement mechanisms, liquidity sources and so on. And when a Wall Street trader comes into work in the morning, she does not write a listing for every financial derivative she wants to sell today and then post that listing on multiple websites and wait for potential buyers to get in touch and start negotiating the terms on which she might trade."

"It can be hard for outsiders to grasp how unnerving any perceived challenge to job creation can be in corridors of power. Recently a veteran employment minister in a developed country asked me, following detailed discussions on the topic, if we could get back in touch after the next election. Raising the subject of an official boost for ad hoc working before then would be dangerously off-message as rival politicians are assuring the electorate of renewed job creation efforts."