Online Platforms – The New Arteries of Capitalism
What is Their Impact on Affordability, Inequality, Sovereignty, Productivity and Resource Allocation? Is There a Case for Publicly Provided Alternatives?
Since the 2010s, digital platforms have become an increasingly prominent feature of modern economies, reshaping markets for labour, finance, goods, services, and content. The rise of companies such as Uber illustrates just one aspect of this broader transformation. Today, a vast ecosystem of platforms underpins supply chains, retail, capital flows, workforce management, and service delivery.
These systems have introduced new efficiencies and capabilities, but they can also be complex and, at times, difficult to fully understand. Emerging research and reporting suggest they influence pricing, labour practices, user behaviour, and competitive dynamic.
This webinar will explore how these evolving digital infrastructures intersect with key economic and societal questions, from cost of living and productivity to political sentiment and market concentration.
It will also draw on ongoing research into potential alternative models for organising digital markets. What role, if any, should public policy play in shaping these systems? And are there opportunities to develop forms of market infrastructure that better balance innovation, competition, and broader societal outcomes?
Our panel will include:
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Ann Pettifor, Author and Economist
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Matthew Lesh, Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA)
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Tony Curzon Price, First International Data Union (FIDU)
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Thomas Stephens, New Economics Foundation
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Moderated by Wingham Rowan, Modern Markets for All (MM4A)