Symposium on the Sharing Economy
About
May 16–17, 2016
Commons Hotel, Minneapolis, MN
The two-day symposium brought together leaders from academia, industry, nonprofits, and government to shed light on the emerging area of the sharing economy and stimulate interdisciplinary research and collaboration. The event included a Research Workshop featuring researchers with backgrounds in economics, operations, information systems, transportation science, industrial ecology, and public policy, and a Public Forum with participation from industry, government agencies, and non-profit organizations.
The symposium aimed to:
- Create greater awareness of issues surrounding the sharing (and the on-demand) economy and its implications for the economy, society, and the environment
- Support the development of a research community that draws from different disciplines around these issues and to articulate a research agenda for the community
- Encourage collaborations between academic researchers, government agencies, non-government organizations, and industry
The symposium was chaired by Saif Benjaafar at the University of Minnesota, organized by the Initiative on the Sharing Economy, and sponsored by the Center for Transportation Studies and the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Minnesota.
Research Workshop
The Research Workshop featured participants from a broad range of disciplines giving presentations on a wide range of topics, including the economics of the sharing economy and the impact of the sharing economy on ownership, consumption, and labor welfare.
Public Forum
The Public Forum featured presentations and panel discussions by practitioners, entrepreneurs, government representatives, and other leading thinkers. In the luncheon presentation, Tom Fisher, Dayton Hudson Chair in Urban Design and Director of the Metropolitan Design Center at the College of Design, University of Minnesota, discussed living, working, and moving in the sharing economy.