Sharing Economy and Sustainable Development

The aim of the thesis is to discuss and evaluate the possible impact of the sharing economy on the long-term sustainability from both ecological and economic perspective. The first part of the thesis serves as an introduction to the topics of research. The concept of the sharing economy is described, including its current position on the market. The theory of the sustainable development is split between the ecological and neoclassical school of thought. The most relevant aspects of the sustainability of the sharing economy are identified to enable its interconnection with economic models to complement the theory. In the second part, sustainability of the current economic growth is evaluated, followed by application of the sharing economy on the models: Genuine Progress Indicator measuring the sustainable development and Solow and Harrod-Domar models measuring the long-run economic growth. The possible impact of the sharing economy on these models is evaluated in form of discussion. In the end of the thesis, the importance of the efficient regulation is emphasized and the limits of the both schools of thought with the economic models are debated.