Outsourcing Tasks Online: Matching Supply and Demand on Peer-to-Peer Internet
summary
Analysis of TaskRabbit 2010–2014 uses 336 city‑month markets and a search‑and‑matching model to show markets clear mainly through elastic seller effort rather than price changes. Empirical facts: average price ≈ $60, doubling tasks → +41% matches, doubling offers → +52% matches. Estimated offer supply is highly price‑elastic (10% price rise → ~30% more offers), surplus per match ≈ $37, and flexible supply raises aggregate value by about 15% versus a fixed‑supply counterfactual. Cities differ by distance and task standardization.
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chapters (24)
- 0:00Diffusion of Online Peer-to-Peer Marketplaces
- 3:11TaskRabbit, a Two-Sided Platform for Local Services
- 5:26Price
- 6:09Rationing
- 6:29Seller Effort
- 6:40Contribution
- 7:39Model of a Market for Services
- 8:49Seller Choice of Search Effort
- 10:14Market Equilibrium
- 10:51Comparative Statics
- 11:03Increase in Buyers relative to Sellers
- 11:37Increase in Market Size
- 12:18From Theory to Empirical Model
- 15:11Model Components
- 15:37Fluctuations in the Buyer to Seller Ratio
- 16:34Changes in Market Size
- 17:11Key Identifying Assumption
- 18:49Pricing and Matching Parameters
- 20:49City Differences in Match Efficiency
- 21:21Why City Differences? Geographic Density
- 24:03Why City Differences? Level of Task Standardization
- 24:50Utility Parameters
- 25:50Welfare Implications
- 28:11Summary
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