摘要
梳理平台经济不同发展阶段社会福利影响机制,区分为“福利提升效应”和“福利分配效应”,并对应于互联网外卖平台不同阶段的福利变化。借助对入驻MT外卖平台200多万商户开展在线问卷调查所回收的9132份有效问卷,综合其他渠道宏微观数据,构造希克斯补偿支出函数,并拟合出含佣金的外卖平台供求曲线作为分析各主体福利变化的框架,从实证层面测算垂直领域代表性平台中各主体可货币度量的福利变化,并以此印证平台发展的社会福利效应及阶段性特征。结果表明:(1)互联网外卖平台通过提供数字化服务促进了商户营业流水和利润率的提升;(2)与传统线下餐饮相比,在交易额相同的情况下,互联网外卖中的消费者福利提升约27.79%,商户净利率和毛利率分别提高约1.5%和6.5%,平台及入驻骑手也获得可观收益;(3)从2020年互联网外卖的社会福利分配情况来看,消费者占据最大份额的社会福利,骑手和商户次之,平台收益最小;(4)当前,互联网外卖领域的福利分配状况更接近于社会福利最大化的情景,这与外卖平台尚处在补贴发展的阶段以及面临的激烈市场竞争有关,也间接印证了平台经济不同发展阶段的社会福利变化机制。社会各界应客观看待平台经济对社会福利的影响,基于科学测算做出判断;监管部门应秉持规范与发展并重理念,顺应互联网平台发展规律分类实施监管。
As a typical model of the new digital economy and an important carrier of the integration of digital and real economy,the rapid rise of platform economy has played an important role in promoting economic circulation,making life convenient and safeguarding people's livelihood,and has become an infrastructure of systemic importance.However,with the rise of"oligarchic platform",the distribution of welfare has become more complex,posing new challenges to the government.Considering the important role of the platform,the goal of platform governance should be set as to enhance the welfare,promote fair distribution of welfare among various subjects,and ultimately achieve the healthy and orderly operation of the platform and the harmonious coexistence of all subjects.To this end,it is necessary to make scientific and accurate calculations on the social welfare impact of the platform economy in different stages.We believe that the development of Internet plaforms generally follows a two-stage evolutionary path from"rapid development"to"stable maturity".The corresponding"welfare enhancement effect"and"welfare distribution effect"are observed in each stage.This paper aims to address two major academic concerns,which are"Can the development of the platform improve social welfare?"and"How is social welfare distributed in the platform system?"First,we analyze the mechanisms of platforms'impact on social welfare in different stages.In the stage of rapid development,the positive role of platforms in improving the organization of production,reducing information asymmetry,providing"free"products and services,and improving resource allocation is prominent.In the stable maturity stage,due to techno-economic characteristics and market competition,the impact of platform-specific behavior on their revenue and welfare changes of related subjects is uncertain,resulting in""welfare distribution effect".Second,we analyze the mechanism of how the take-out platform's actions may affect the welfare of related subjects.From the perspective of merchants,take-out platforms can broaden the development channels of restaurants,avoid the constraints and risks of offline operation,improve the efficiency of supply and demand matching,increase merchants'business flow,and reduce merchants'operating costs.From the perspective of consumers,the platform can reduce the costs of consumption,improve the market position of consumers,meet their personalized catering needs,and promote shared consumption and green consumption.The platform and the take-out riders,in turn,gain corresponding profits or income by providing services to the platform users.Finally,with the help of 9,132 valid questionnaires collected from an online questionnaire survey of more than 2 million registered merchants on MT take-out platform,and aggregating macro and micro data from other channels,we construct a Hicks compensation expenditure function and fit the supply and demand curve of the take-out platform to measure its welfare changes in 2020.We find that:(1)the take-out platform promotes merchants'business flow and profitability by enabling digital services.(2)Compared with traditional offline restaurants,online consumer welfare increases by about 27.79%,merchants net and gross margins increase by about 1.5%and 6.5%,respectively,with the same transaction volume,and the platform and delivery riders also gain considerable benefits.(3)In 2020,MT platform's distribution of social welfare is close to the scenario of maximizing social welfare.The main reason is that the development of take-out platforms is still in the transitional period from"rapid development"to"stable maturity",and platforms are still competing fiercely for market shares through subsidies.This can indirectly prove the mechanism of welfare changes in different development stages of platform economy.Based on the conclusion above,we argue that a more objective perspective should be taken when considering the platform economy's social welfare effect and judgments should be made on the basis of scientific calculations;regulators should lay equal stress on regulation and development,and implement regulation shall follow the development law of Internet platform.
作者
蔡跃洲
顾雨辰
CAI Yuezhou;GU Yuchen(School of Applied Economics,University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences;Institute of Quantitative and Technological Economics,Chinese Academy of Social Sciences;Fuzhou University of International Studies and Trade)
出处
《经济研究》
CSSCI
北大核心
2023年第5期98-115,共18页
Economic Research Journal
基金
国家自然科学基金重大项目(71991475)
福建省自然科学基金青创项目“互联网平台的社会福利效应研究:理论机制与实证分析”的资助。
关键词
数字经济
平台经济
互联网外卖
社会福利
消费者剩余
Digital Economy
Platform Economy
Internet Take-out
Social Welfare
Consumer Surplus
