Study finds that Airbnb and Uber benefit people with lower incomes

Startups like Uber and Airbnb, which form the core of the new “sharing economy,” can have a particularly positive effect on people with lower incomes, according to a new report. The study, from New York University professor Arun Sundararajan and research scientist Samuel Fraiberger, analyzed data from two years of transactions provided by Getaround, a peer-to-peer car rental startup. While consumers across various income levels saw a positive impact, people who made less money experience a particularly big boost, the study found. Data from Uber and Airbnb was not used in this study, but it said the findings should extend to the broader sharing economy: “Perhaps the most important takeaway from our current findings, one we fully expect to persist with extensions and alternative calibrations, is that peer-to-peer rental marketplaces have a disproportionately positive effect on lower-income consumers across almost every measure.”