Precarious and productive work in the digital economy

Digital platforms have the potential to create benefits for their 'suppliers' or workers as well as their customers; yet there is a heated debate about the character of this work and whether the platforms should be more heavily regulated. In her article Coyle addresses how technology is contributing to changing patterns of work whilst the existing framework of employment legislation is still structured around the concept of 'the firm' as the agent of policy delivery. To reshape policies in order to protect the interests of people as workers as well as consumers, Coyle argues, we must first understand why digital innovators make the choices they do.