Sharing Economy: For or against Sustainable Development

Abstract

The development of sharing economy business models is one of the features of the digital economy. The issue of sustainable development has been of particular importance in the intensively developed theory of the sharing economy. However, methodological approaches for examining the relationship between the sharing economy and sustainable development need further investigation. Economic and mathematical models that allow for a quantitative estimate of the impact of the development of the sharing economy on the sustainable development goals achievement have to be enhanced. This contribution attempts to fill the indicated gap. We have examined the relationship between the sharing economy and the sustainable development goals achievement in three directions, namely by analyzing the prerequisites for the sharing economy emergence, by tracing the sharing economy theory evolution, and by investigating the quantitative impact of the sharing economy development on the sustainable development goals achievement. To determine the sharing economy’s impact on sustainable development, a three-dimensional indicator based on the triple-p concept was developed. The correlation between the sharing economy and the unemployment rate has been used as an indicator of the influence the sharing economy has on the social domain. The correlation between the sharing economy and waste generation has been used as an indicator of the influence the sharing economy has on the environmental domain. The correlation between the sharing economy and GDP has been used as an indicator of the influence the sharing economy has on the economic domain. As a result of the study, the insignificant influence of the development of the sharing economy on the achievement of the quantitative goals of sustainable development was established. The main reason for this is the lack of acceptable macroeconomic indicators. The rise of the digital economy has been made into standard macroeconomic indicators that are insufficient to assess the social, environmental, and economic areas of sustainable development. The existing problems of regulating the digital economy threaten its inherent positive features. The developed model can be used to diagnose the influence of the sharing economy on sustainable development goals achievement, and can also be finalized regarding the available statistical base.