The Sharing Economy
Read the article (on pages 8-11) closely, then answer each question below. Write at least two to five sentences for each response, using evidence from the text to support your answers.
1. Describe the author’s purpose in the first two paragraphs of the article.
Renting objects and places
2. Analyze the reasons the “sharing economy” is taking off now, according to the author.
Enjoying a good time with strangers
3. The author writes that “whether the sharing economy is a bane or a blessing really depends who you ask.” What evidence does the author include to support this claim?
It’s both
4. Using evidence from the article, analyze the risks that consumers take when they participate in the sharing economy. Would you be willing to take these risks?
They can take things and they don’t have to ask you.
5. Why does the author predict that the sharing economy could benefit the environment?
It benefit homeless and students that need a place away their parents.
6. Read the “What’s Mine Is Yours (for a price)” sidebar that appears with the article (p. 9 of the magazine). Which of these peer-to-peer businesses do you think have the greatest potential? Explain why, using evidence from the article and your own ideas.
Dogface
Highlight the correct answer.
7. Which of these is NOT an example of a peer-to-peer business in the “sharing economy”?
a. twoTwo retailers splitting a large space to save on rent
b. a commuter using an online app to purchase a ride from a stranger
c. a couple renting out their camping equipment
d. a traveler paying to stay in a family’s spare bedroom while on vacation
8. The rise of the sharing economy coincided with
a. the growth of America’s suburbs in the 1950s.
b. the first Earth Day in 1970.
c. the economic crisis of 2007-08.
d. the loosening of federal laws regulating peer-to-peer apps.
9. For consumers, the sharing economy typically means
a. decreased supply of goods and services.
b.