The rise of the sharing economy
On the internet, everything is for hire

LAST night 40,000 people rented accommodation from a service that offers 250,000 rooms in 30,000 cities in 192 countries. They chose their rooms and paid for everything online. But their beds were provided by private individuals, rather than a hotel chain. Hosts and guests were matched up by Airbnb, a firm based in San Francisco. Since its launch in 2008 more than 4m people have used it—2.5m of them in 2012 alone. It is the most prominent example of a huge new “sharing economy”, in which people rent beds, cars, boats and other assets directly from each other, co-ordinated via the internet.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “The rise of the sharing economy”

From the March 9th 2013 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the edition
Donald Trump was right. Daylight Saving Time needs to go
Evidence on the health costs is piling up

Why the IMF should bail out a serial deadbeat
Under President Javier Milei, Argentina has changed

How America could end up making China great again
A big beautiful opportunity
President Trump’s mindless tariffs will cause economic havoc
But the rest of the world can limit the damage
Lift sanctions to give Syria a chance of rebuilding
Our poll shows Syrians trust their new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa. So should the West
Why Marine Le Pen should be allowed to run for president
Punish the offender without also punishing French democracy