Valenduc, G. (2021). A historical perspective on the drivers of digital labour platforms. In A Modern Guide To Labour and the Platform Economy. Edward Elgar Publishing. https://www.elgaronline.com/view/edcoll/9781788975094/9781788975094.xml
To what extent are the organisational work practices of digital labour platforms really new and to what extent do they differ from previous changes enabled by information and communication technologies? Two periods are considered in this chapter. The first one can be characterized as the expansion of online digital services, from the preparation of the European Single Market in late 1980s to the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2000-01. The second period covers the shift from online services to digital platforms, from 2008 onwards. Institutional and technological drivers, as well as emerging flexible work forms, are analysed and compared for each period. Elements of continuity and disruption are intertwined. Whilst the first period was shaped by deregulation and liberalization, the second period highlights the drawbacks of these policies and calls for new models of regulation and public policy.