Bob Hancké of the London School of Economics examines the wage effects of the gig economy and the potential need for improved regulation and adapted social security systems that cover gig workers more extensively.
Bank of England’s chief economist Andy Haldane is one of the brighter bulbs in economic policy-making. He regularly looks at many different parts of the economy and their effects on macroeconomics. The Guardian reported on a speech (here) that Haldane delivered a few weeks ago, in which he examined the possibility that wages in the gig economy (work on demand; the term is taken from music bands that play ‘gigs’ when asked) have held down wages elsewhere over the last decade. This got me thinking. While his speech referred to the UK, where, to put it mildly, slow wage growth is somewhat ‘over-determined’ – imagine a world with weak trade unions, disorganized wage bargaining, deregulation, harsh austerity and a deep and long recession following the financial crisis – it raises questions well beyond Britain…
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