We conceptualize the gig economy along four dimensions: online intermediation, independent contractors, paid tasks, and personal services. From our framework, one can derive both a narrow definition of the gig economy as ex ante specified, paid tasks carried out by independent contractors mediated by online platforms, and broader definitions that include offline next to online intermediation, employees next to independent contractors, unpaid tasks next to paid tasks, and asset sharing next to performing gigs. The four dimensions also span four key regulatory questions: how should online platforms be classified and regulated, how should gig workers be classified and regulated, what should count as paid and unpaid work, and should we treat earnings from performing gigs different from earnings from sharing assets. We conclude that the positions taken on these regulatory issues are essentially contingent upon political choices, which will determine how the gig economy will evolve in the future.

The advent of online platforms has been considered to be one of the most significant economic changes of the last decade, with their emergence reflecting a longer trend of increasing contingent work, labor market flexibility, and outsourcing work to independent contractors. In this article, we conceptualize the so‐called gig economy along four dimensions, namely, online intermediation, independent contractors, paid tasks, and personal services. Using this framework, it is possible to derive both a narrow definition of the gig economy, as ex ante specified, paid tasks carried out by independent contractors mediated by online platforms, and broader definitions that include offline alongside online intermediation, employees alongside independent contractors, unpaid tasks alongside paid tasks, and asset sharing alongside performing gigs. The four dimensions also span four key regulatory questions: How should online platforms be classified and regulated; how should gig workers be classified and regulated; what should count as paid and unpaid work; and should we treat earnings from performing gigs differently than earnings from sharing assets? We conclude that the positions taken on these regulatory issues are essentially contingent upon political choices and will determine how the gig economy evolves in the future.

With the emergence of the online gig economy, computer-based jobs can be completed by gig workers around the world. This raises the question whether the labour market for online gigs is truly boundless as distance no longer matters. Based on gravity models, we investigate the effect of geographical, institutional and cultural distance on almost 30 000 platform hirings between 26 European countries. While we find that online gig platforms are used to off-shore work from high- to low-wage countries, the online gig economy is not boundless as gig workers are still preferably hired from geographically close economies. A common language furthermore facilitates hirings between countries. Interestingly, though, differences in formal and informal institutions hardly affect hiring patterns across countries, suggesting that online platforms create their own institutional framework. We conclude that the online gig economy constitutes neither a boundless nor a frictionless labour market, implying that its promise of creating equal access to job opportunities is exaggerated.

This study compares generalised trust between second-generation Muslim and non- Muslim migrant groups in Europe, and examines the effect on trust of discrimination and cultural transmission. Analysis of data from the European Social Survey of 4,687 respondents in 32 European countries shows that second-generation Muslim groups have lower levels of trust than second-generation non-Muslim minority groups. The findings provide no evidence that Muslims’ lower levels of trust are due to discrimination and exclusion. Rather, results indicate that the differences are due to cultural transmission: Muslim groups originate more often from low-trust societies, and generalised trust is transmitted from one generation to the next.

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