Reference no: EM133050808

Instructions: You are required to answer the following questions.

You should save your answers in a Word document for submission. Please do not repeat the questions on your answer sheet. Instead, please list the answers numerically/sequentially by simply utilizing 1, 2, 3, and 4. Each assignment must have a cover page listing your name, the name of the assignment, and the date. The cover page does not count towards the word count. For each assignment, you are expected to answer the assigned questions in your own words. Each assignment paper should be at least 250 words. Papers less than the required 250 words will get zero. This does not mean each question requires a 250-word response; rather, the total number of words for answering the questions must total more than 250 words.

Background: The sharing economy has become a bone of contention as it has become a disruptive force in numerous industries, particularly the taxi industry thanks to Uber and Lyft, which has been protected from competition by state and local laws. Protectionism, as any Economics 101 student could attest, leads to poor services, lack of innovation and poor pricing. Companies like Lyft and Uber have created competition where it was essentially was non-existent and the existing taxi industry has been forced to respond to the altered competitive landscape.

The philosophical debate over Airbnb, and other aspects of the sharing economy, typically divides along the political (red and blue) axis. Free market advocates have quickly fallen in love with these companies, seeing them as the marketplace in action, while progressives tend to deride the "sharing" economy as an attack on labor unions that will choke off local government from the critical tax revenue it garners from traditional hotels.

Questions: Free market advocates have quickly fallen in love with the market sharing companies (e.g., AirBnB, Uber), seeing them as the marketplace in action, while opponents tend to deride the "sharing" economy as an attack on labor unions that will choke off local government from the critical tax revenue it garners from traditional hotels. Using the articles I have included on iLearn for this week, please answer the following questions. You need to cite which articles you use.

1. Defend your position: Are you for or against market sharing companies/economies (free market or opposed) Why or why not?

2. Are market sharing companies and economies good or bad for tourism and travelers? Why or why not?