‘Platform Co-Ops’ Gaining Traction

Summary

The “sharing economy” is taking root across rural America. This involves people renting apartments, cars and other assets directly from each other, coordinated through Internet-based, peer-to-peer services. Technology has reduced transaction costs, making sharing assets cheaper and simpler than ever and, therefore, feasible on a larger scale. The big change is the availability of more data about owners and their assets, which enables consumers to rent those assets when they are needed.