Quantifying the sharing economy: An approach for measuring the ecological, social, and economic effects

The sharing economy is often considered either the most promising “pathway to a sustainable market economy” or, conversely, a “hyper-capitalistic” exploitation of natural and social resources. Such contrasting images can influence the societal valuation of sharing economy models, thereby misleading or hindering processes of transformation. Approaches toward quantifying the sharing economy have the potential for enriching societal knowledge and, in the process, fuelling societal transformation as the ecological, social, and economic effects of such developments as carsharing become apparent.