Airbnb's Economic System

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4. Case Study Airbnb Airbnb is a company founded in San Francisco in 2008 by Brian Chesky (CEO), Joe Gebbia (CPO) and Nathan Blecharczyk (CTO). (Airbnb webpage) It is one of the most famous example of this new economic system. Their principles are based on the idea that especially young people nowadays prefer to only use things instead of owning them and being responsible for them. Geron (2013) goes as far as to say [setzt noch einen drauf so öppis ide art meini da ] that Airbnb provides its participants with liberty, power and independency. The principles discussed in Chapter 3 can be divided into two interconnected categories. The Microeconomics deals with the decision-making as well as the interaction of firms and households on a market …show more content…

Only if the inhabitants do have some money left to spend on extras such as holidays, can companies like Airbnb survive. The eighth principle by Mankiw & Taylor (2014, p. 10) deals with the connection between country’s GDP and its standard of living. Airbnb tries to reach people all over the world, which means that their customers are not only part of a single nation’s society. Moreover, even though the sharing economic system might be in favour of a market economy where government interference is kept as low as possible, in the long run, companies like Airbnb are interested in a global high standard of living so that as many people as possible have the chance to participate in the …show more content…

The sharing economy is a trade system advantaging all parties involved. It is based on comparing costs and benefits where opportunity cost plays a significant role and it is a market ruled by self-interest and efficiency. The biggest challenge, on the other hand, lies in finding the equilibrium between this free market economy and rational state interference, in other words, efficiency and equity. Only if this is provided, can inflation and unemployment be prevented and success and survival be maintained for the future. The sharing economy is a comparatively young phenomenon. To conclude, it can be said that the potential to grow and become more prosperous is yet to come provided that a stability and thus a world-wide wellbeing can be maintained and improved without weakening competition on the