The Economic Lives of Platforms

This interdisciplinary collection rethinks the political economy of the digital market by asking what came before platforms and suggesting what might come after them.

By unpacking the concept of ‘platform economies’ into locally embedded variations of digital markets, the book identifies what is new about contemporary platforms and what is characteristic of wider historical, social and economic currents.

The diverse team of authors employ various analytical approaches, including in-depth ethnographic studies, and theoretical and analytical reconceptualizations of platforms and the industries they encompass.

Tapping into current themes including the decolonisation of the internet, this book offers a timely assessment of the implications of emerging reconfigurations between technology, information, society and markets.