The Gig Economy in Terms of Its Socioeconomic Impact: Multiple Perspectives on the Subject in Terms of a Systematic Literature Review

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_35How to use a DOI?

Keywords

platform algorithms; social security; economic effects; social effects; gig economy

Abstract

The gig economy as one of the most important characteristics of the digital age plays a dual, complex role in economic growth and social transformation. In this paper, we are reviewing the economic as well as the social impacts of the gig economy. The analysis reveals that on the macro-economic level, it enhances innovation and economic vitality, and it leads to the growth of the GDP, whereas it presents an issue about taxation and social security systems. It makes the labor market more flexible and employment provides more opportunities, but at medium level, it contributes to the market segmentation and instability of earnings. To micro-level businesses it saves on costs and enhances efficiency, but makes the management of labor relations more difficult. The gig economy provides workers with more autonomy and a work-life balance, which is socially welcome, but there is an issue of under-the-radar exploitation via platform algorithms. It gives chances of upward mobilities to certain strata, yet the absence of workers protection also preconditions social discrimination and segregation. Thus, economic and social impacts of the gig economy are intertwined, which explains the necessity of the policies that would be economically efficient yet socially just. Last but not least, this paper recommends that future research be done on the area of collaborative governance, algorithm enhancements, and global comparisons to facilitate inclusive growth in the gig economy.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Zihan Xu
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/25
TI  - The Gig Economy in Terms of Its Socioeconomic Impact: Multiple Perspectives on the Subject in Terms of a Systematic Literature Review
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 4th International Conference on Educational Science and Social Culture (ESSC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 299
EP  - 306
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_35
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_35
ID  - Xu2026
ER  -