We build a model to study the implications of utilization-based minimum earning regulations of the kind recently enacted by New York City for its ride-hailing providers. We identify the precise conditions under which a utilization-based minimum earnings rule causes marketplace instability, where...

Ride-sharing platforms face a “productivity paradox”, where any efficiency gained through improved dispatch or pricing strategies will not benefit drivers or riders. We show that this is a limit of the traditional ride-hailing model, and a consequence of the Hall-Horton driver equilibrium...