The new economy is based on sharing and cooperation. What drives this evolvement?

The current and future generations may not have the same amount of money as their parents, but that doesn’t mean they have it worse off. Experiencing and sharing these experiences are becoming more important than property and money. Scientists are indicating that the new economy - in which cooperation, sharing and usership are the focus - has the same potential for change as the industrial revolution and mass consumption.

Driving factors

Technology

  • Innovative mobile technology, peer-to-peer social and sharing networks (Vole, Maze and Peerby) and peer-to-peer payment systems (Venmo, Square) stimulate the sharing economy.

Social

  • Desire to be part of a community.
  • Dissatisfaction with our current consumption-focused society.

Economy

  • Better allocation, division and monetization of excess and excessive supply. The average use time of a power drill is 12 minutes a year.
  • Increased financial flexibility. You are not tied to a bank or traditional moneylender.

Fear factors

  • The sharing economy is reducing consumer spending, spending that is necessary to keep an economy running. No spending will increase unemployment.
  • Trust is the driving force of the sharing economy. Only 19% of Millennials (people aged 18-33) believe most people can be trusted, while 31% of GenX’ers (34-48) do. If the future is a peer-to-peer marketplace, it will require increasingly reliable, innovative ways to identify those peers.

Source: Forbes.com, Pew Research

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