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Series about the world of work from vast corporations to modest volunteers

Series of programmes about the whole world of work, public and private, from vast corporations to modest volunteers

In Business: The Sharing Economy

Factual

08/05/2014

The Sharing Economy

BBC Radio 4 - In Business, The Sharing Economy

Sharing your neighbour's car, tools and clothes. Peter Day reports on the sharing economy.

Sharing your neighbour's car, tools and clothes: the sharing economy. But existing regulations and laws are set up for hotels and car hire companies, and that is causing problems.

Home swaps, driving your neighbour's car, private car parking in your drive, even renting your neighbour's clothes. They are all part of a new style of collaborative enterprise in which nearly everyone can join and (maybe) make money: the 'shared economy'. 

It's breaking cover, growing fast and could be important. Perhaps the best known example is Airbnb but many more companies have sprung up allowing people to share their things and even their time. And now companies are trying to make money out of what makes all this sharing possible: trust. 

But existing regulations and laws are set up for traditional businesses such as hotels and car hire companies, and that is causing problems. Peter Day investigates the opportunities and snags of the sharing economy and asks if it could become a big democratic movement. 

Producer: Charlotte Pritchard.

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