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The WZB and the Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme (FMSH) invite to the final conference of the Franco-German research program “Changing Societies” on April 10, 2018. Since 2016 the program has strengthened the interdisciplinary exchange between French and German researchers in humanities and social science by organizing workshops and conferences and promoting visiting research fellowships in both countries.

Advocates of the platform economy present it as a new way of organizing work and value creation and as a fundamental and efficient alternative to the “old economy”. Traditional workplaces and employment are replaced by platforms organizing crowds of formally independent freelancers. There are huge platforms like Upwork which organize markets for freelancers in a large number of sectors. There are dedicated platforms which focus on specific markets. Companies like Uber or Deliveroo, for instance, offer mobility and transport services and compete with traditional transport providers.