Can the Sharing Economy Work Under Quarantine?

What will the coronavirus mean for the sharing economy?

"Sharing economy" is a phrase that faded away once people became disillusioned with the Ubers and Airbnbs of the world. But in the context of a communicable disease the sharing moniker seems relevant. What happens if, as many expect, Covid-19 spreads deeper into the Western world?

The impact of epidemics on tech services has been mixed in China. Authorities shut down ride-hailing in Wuhan and prohibited drivers in Beijing from ferrying passengers into or out of the city. Drivers are reportedly installing plastic dividers and wearing masks. But delivery workers remain an important part of the urban economy—while providing customers with printouts assuring them that that no one with a fever touched their food. The 2002 SARS outbreak actually had a “curiously beneficial impact on the Chinese internet sector,” because people shopped online while holed up in their homes, according to a biography of Jack Ma, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s co-founder. (Today's Alibaba, however, doesn't see a silver lining in the coronavirus outbreak.)