Paper Number
ICIS2025-1643
Paper Type
Complete
Abstract
Digital labor platforms' governance decisions—especially in response to geopolitical crises—have profound implications for market outcomes and worker livelihoods. Little is known about how platforms strategically respond to external shocks and how these decisions reshape freelancers' opportunity structures. This study exploits a natural experiment arising from a platform governance decision to remove all Russian freelancers after the Russia–Ukraine war. Using a panel dataset in the online labour platform, we apply a regression discontinuity in time design to estimate the causal effects of this exogenous labor supply shock. The intervention significantly increased average earnings for the remaining workforce, primarily through higher income per task. However, workers with higher reputational capital and technical categories like IT experienced disproportionately greater benefits. Political alignment of a worker’s home country also moderated the effects. Our findings show that platform responses to geopolitical risk can reinforce structural opportunity redistribution, highlighting the strategic role of platform governance.
Recommended Citation
LIN, Qingyuan, "Freelance Labor Markets in Crisis: How Platform Governance and Reactions Shape Economic Opportunity After Geopolitical Disruption" (2025). ICIS 2025 Proceedings. 6.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2025/public_is/public_is/6
Freelance Labor Markets in Crisis: How Platform Governance and Reactions Shape Economic Opportunity After Geopolitical Disruption
Digital labor platforms' governance decisions—especially in response to geopolitical crises—have profound implications for market outcomes and worker livelihoods. Little is known about how platforms strategically respond to external shocks and how these decisions reshape freelancers' opportunity structures. This study exploits a natural experiment arising from a platform governance decision to remove all Russian freelancers after the Russia–Ukraine war. Using a panel dataset in the online labour platform, we apply a regression discontinuity in time design to estimate the causal effects of this exogenous labor supply shock. The intervention significantly increased average earnings for the remaining workforce, primarily through higher income per task. However, workers with higher reputational capital and technical categories like IT experienced disproportionately greater benefits. Political alignment of a worker’s home country also moderated the effects. Our findings show that platform responses to geopolitical risk can reinforce structural opportunity redistribution, highlighting the strategic role of platform governance.
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