La economía política de las plataformas y el rol estratégico de la política pública

Abstract

Digital platforms have acquired enormous economic importance, creating markets, and transforming established forms of economic and social coordination. The global presence and importance of platforms contrast with the limited capabilities of public agencies and governments to influence them. In this context, extant research on platforms has great­ly advanced our understanding of the phenomenon. However, we still lack a conceptual synthesis that allows us to clearly connect our characterization of platforms with the pu­blic policies being used to address their power and its limitations. This article offers three contributions to this issue: first, by discussing how platforms redefine economic relations, provides an original definition of platform based on their political economy. Second, it identifies and details five fundamental dimensions that explain platform firms’ dominan­ce. Lastly, it provides and overview of the main areas of public policy by which platform dominance has been addressed and, discussing its limitations, introduces the notion of mission-oriented platforms as public policy tools.