Episode 27: Migrants and the platform/gig economy - opportunities, challenges and lessons from Europe and West & South Asia

The Migration & Diaspora Podcast

Good morning and welcome to another episode of the Migration & Diaspora Podcast, where we discuss everything to do with the movement of people. Today, we've got Glen Hodgson from Free Trade Europa on the show to talk about a trend that has certainly defined my life, but also the lives of many others, and the global economy. I'm talking about the platform economy and how it affects migrants.

So a bit about today's guest, Glen. Glen has over 20 years' experience in communications, public affairs and lobbying. He is the founder of the think tank Free Trade Europa, which focuses on promoting free trade, liberalisation and the rule of law within the EU and internationally. Glen was previously responsible for the Nordics, Baltics and Central & Eastern Europe at an international communications agency. Prior to this, he worked for the EU institutions as well as governments, blue-chip international companies, startups and NGOs as a lobbyist, strategist and communications advisor. Glen was also the Secretary General of a European trade association for five years.

On today's show, we're talking all about how migrants interact with the platform and gig economies. You'll hear Glen explain these terms far better than I can, but broadly speaking, we're talking about freelance work that is done through online platforms, like Upwork, Fiverr, Uber, Deliveroo, and the many other apps that are emerging.

We talk about the findings of Glen's two recent research studies commissioned by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), focusing on the phenomenon across Europe and several Silk Routes countries, namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan, as well as Glen and Free Trade Europa's ongoing work on the platform economy. In particular, we learn about migrants' participation in the platform economy and the challenges and opportunities that it implies, along with the policy implications.

I very much enjoyed this conversation, which is particularly meaningful to me given my experiences with independent working. Glen brings some much-needed nuance to the conversation by talking about how to address the very real issues of precarity that are normally associated with migrant participation in the gig economy, while also discussing ways to ensure that migrants are empowered to exploit the many opportunities of independent working.

As always, thank you very much for tuning in and we hope you enjoy the show. And you can access the podcast archive and get in touch via our new website, homelandsadvisory.com/podcast.

Useful links:

• Glen's latest study: A New Hope: The role of the Platform Economy in facilitating migrants into the Swedish labour market - https://freetradeeuropa.eu/platform-economy-study
• Glen's paper for the Prague Process: Migration and the Platform Economy - https://www.pragueprocess.eu/en/migration-observatory/publications/document?id=240
• Glen's Budapest Process briefing paper on the gig economy - https://www.budapestprocess.org/index.php?option=com_attachments&task=download&id=412
• Free Trade Europa - https://freetradeeuropa.eu/
• Connect with Glen - https://www.linkedin.com/in/glen-hodgson-36136516/
• Twitter - @TradeEuropa