Platform Economy: How Uber, iFood, and Others Affect Informal GDP
Where were you 15 years ago? Chances are, to get a ride, you had to hail a taxi on the street.
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To order a pizza, you had to call the pizzeria and hope the line wasn't busy. That seems like a long time ago, right?
The way we consume and, especially, how we work, has changed drastically with the arrival of digital platforms.
The call platform economy became an invisible but powerful force that reconfigured the labor market, consumption and, consequently, our informal Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Uber transformed urban transportation. iFood transformed the way we eat.
These companies not only created new services, but also revamped existing activities, which now operate on a scale and with dynamics never seen before.
But what does this really mean for our country's economy, especially for that part that doesn't appear in official statistics?
It's a complex question. The rise of these platforms is often celebrated for their flexibility and innovation.
However, there's a less obvious and more challenging side: the impact on informality. In this article, we'll dive deeper into this topic, uncovering how platform economy connects to the vast and often invisible universe of informal GDP in Brazil.
The Anatomy of the Platform Economy: A New Face of Work
THE platform economy is an economic ecosystem where supply and demand are connected through digital platforms.
Think of a transportation or delivery app. It doesn't "employ" drivers or delivery people in the traditional way.
It connects them directly to customers who need a service. This connection, mediated by an algorithm, is the essence of this model.
Flexibility or Precariousness? The Fine Line of “On-Demand Work”
The most common narrative about platform work is flexibility. You set your own schedule, are your own boss, and decide when and where to work.
For many people, this freedom is a huge attraction, especially in a country with high unemployment rates and underutilized labor, like Brazil.
However, this “flexibility” is seen by many experts as a form of precariousness.
Sociologist and researcher Ludmila Abílio, one of the most prominent voices in this debate in Brazil, argues that although workers do not have a formal boss, they are controlled by an "algorithm boss," who dictates their pay, work style, and even their continued employment on the platform.
Instead of free choice, workers often find themselves forced to accept unfavorable conditions to guarantee a minimum income.
This lack of a formal employment relationship, with rights such as vacations, 13th salary and Severance Indemnity Fund (FGTS), is what places these workers in the informal sector.
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The role of the algorithm: the new invisible boss
The algorithm is the centerpiece of the platform economy. He is not just a mathematical code; he is the manager, the supervisor, and the evaluator.
The system decides who receives the rides or deliveries, the amount paid, and the penalties. The worker, in turn, is constantly evaluated by customers and the system itself, and this evaluation directly impacts their ability to generate income.
In many cases, a low rating can result in account deactivation, a kind of “unjust dismissal.”
This dynamic creates a subtle but powerful subordination. Uber drivers aren't required to be online, but if they don't do so during peak hours, they miss out on the best opportunities.
The iFood delivery driver doesn't have a boss who forces him to work in the rain, but the bonus and goal system encourages him to do so.
It is a control that is not exercised by a person, but by a logic of optimization and efficiency that often ignores the human dimension of work.
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Informal GDP and the shadow economy: a brief cartography
To understand the impact of platforms, we first need to understand what informal GDP is.
What is informal GDP?
Formal GDP is what we know: the value of all goods and services produced in the country that are duly registered and taxed.
Informal GDP, on the other hand, is the sum of all economic activities that, for some reason, are not declared to the authorities.
This includes everything from selling handicrafts on the beach to providing services without an invoice.
According to the Brazilian Institute of Competitive Ethics (ETCO), the underground economy — a category that encompasses informality and illegality — drives a considerable part of the Brazilian economy.
In 2023, this share was estimated at around 17.8% of GDP, which represents a gigantic amount of R$ 1.7 trillion reais.
This demonstrates the scale of the challenge we face: a huge portion of our economy is "invisible" to the government, resulting in lost revenue, difficulties in planning public policies, and, of course, leaving millions of workers without adequate social protection.
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Data and Statistics: What Research Tells Us
Informality is a structural problem in Brazil, and platform economy fits perfectly into this scenario.
According to the IBGE, the country has around 40% of its workforce in informal occupations.
App drivers and delivery drivers, because they don't have formal employment contracts, are directly included in this statistic.
The platforms, in turn, claim that most workers use them to supplement their income.
A Datafolha survey, funded by app companies, showed that more than half of those interviewed considered app work their only source of income.
However, it is important to analyze this data with caution, as there is an intense debate about the bias of these surveys and whether they truly reflect the reality of precariousness of a large portion of these professionals.
The truth, as always, seems to lie somewhere in the middle, but informality is an undeniable constant.
The intersection between platforms and informality: what really happens?
The arrival of platform economy to Brazil, in a period of economic crisis and high unemployment, was a driver of informality.
Platforms have opened a door for millions of people who would otherwise be unemployed or underemployed. But what impact has this had on informal GDP?
The Uber and iFood case: from the doorstep to the GDP
A study by FIPE (Economic Research Institute Foundation) for iFood showed the platform's "multiplier effect." In 2023, the iFood ecosystem iFood would have moved R$110.7 billion into the economy, contributing R$0.551 billion to Brazil's GDP.
This research suggests that for every R$ 1,000 spent on the app, another R$ 1,390 is generated in adjacent sectors such as agriculture, livestock, transportation, and commerce.
These numbers are impressive and show that platforms do, in fact, generate economic activity. However, the problem isn't the activity itself, but its nature.
Much of the value generated is captured by informal workers, who do not have access to benefits and labor rights.
The activity is formalized by the platform (the company pays taxes, the customer pays by card, etc.), but the employment relationship between the driver or delivery person and the company is not.
This creates a kind of “formalized informality”.
Imagine a delivery driver who makes 500 deliveries per month. The platform records each delivery, the customer pays through the app, and the company takes its commission.
The transaction is formal. However, the delivery person, for all legal purposes, remains self-employed, without state protection and the stability of formal employment.
The myth of “income supplement”
The idea that app-based work is just a side hustle to supplement income is, for many, a myth.
The Datafolha survey, which we mentioned, already showed that for many this is the main source of income.
The Brazilian labor market scenario, with unemployment and low wages, pushed many people into this modality.
For a young person who can't find a formal first job, a driver who has lost their job in the industry, or a mother who needs flexibility to care for her children, apps have become the only alternative.
This dependence on income from apps demonstrates that informal work is not a choice, but a necessity imposed by circumstances.
And this mass of workers, without access to basic rights, creates a social and economic gap that the State and society need to address.
The challenges of social security
One of the most worrying impacts of platform economy in the informal GDP is the absence of contributions to social security.
A survey by Exame revealed that only 23% of app drivers and delivery workers in Brazil contribute to social security.
This low uptake has serious long-term consequences. The country is creating a generation of workers who will have no retirement, unemployment insurance, or sick pay.
And if platforms continue to grow at this rate, informality will become an even bigger problem, requiring new public policies to guarantee a minimum level of social security for millions of Brazilians.
Case Studies and Expert Opinions: Beyond the Numbers
The discussion about platforms is multifaceted and involves different perspectives.
FIPE research and the “iFood effect”
As already mentioned, FIPE research is often used by platforms to demonstrate their positive impact on the economy.
The study shows that the entry of small restaurants into iFood, for example, generated an average increase of 10.2% in the number of formal jobs in these establishments.
This is an important argument: platforms not only create informality, but can also boost formal employment within their ecosystems.
It's what they call the "domino effect." When a pizzeria joins iFood, its sales increase, and it needs to hire more servers, cooks, and even delivery drivers (even if they also work with the platform), which formalizes jobs.
This nuance is crucial to understanding the complexity of the topic: platform economy is not purely precarious. It is ambiguous, with positive and negative impacts.
The debate on regulation: protection or bureaucratization?
The debate over regulating platform work is one of the hottest at the moment.
On the one hand, unions and activists advocate for the creation of a formal employment relationship, with all the rights of the CLT, to protect workers.
This approach, however, faces resistance from companies themselves and from some workers who value flexibility.
On the other hand, there are those who defend an intermediate model, a “third way” that combines flexibility with social protection.
The proposal, under discussion in the Brazilian government, is to create a category of “self-employed” workers, with compulsory contributions to social security and accident insurance, but without the costs and rigidity of the CLT.
This would be a way to formalize, in part, informal work, guaranteeing basic rights without “killing” the innovation and freedom that attract many workers.
Conclusion: a future under construction
THE platform economy It's an irreversible phenomenon. It has transformed the way we consume and how millions of people relate to work.
However, its impact on Brazil's informal GDP is profound and complex.
While generating income for millions and moving billions into the economy, it perpetuates and, in some cases, even institutionalizes informality, with all the social and economic risks that this entails.
The challenge is to find a balance. The government, society, and the platform companies themselves need to find a way to ensure that innovation doesn't come with precarious employment.
The formalization, even partial, of these workers is crucial to guarantee a future with more dignity, social protection, and a GDP that reflects the complete reality of our country, not just the visible part.
The future of work is already here, and it invites us to rethink our very notions of employment, income, and protection.
Frequently Asked Questions
| Question | Response |
| What is the platform economy? | It is an economic model where supply and demand are connected through digital platforms, such as transportation and delivery apps, allowing self-employed workers to provide services to customers. |
| How does the platform economy affect informal GDP? | It moves a large volume of transactions and income that, although formalized digitally, are generated by workers without employment contracts, contributing to the informality of the labor market and the growth of the underground economy. |
| Is platform work flexible or precarious? | The answer is complex and depends on perspective. For some, it offers freedom and autonomy. For others, it's a precarious form of work, without rights and under algorithmic control, exposing workers to risks and insecurity. |
| Do platforms generate formal jobs? | Yes, research like that of FIPE shows that platforms can boost formality in partner businesses, such as restaurants, which increase their hiring to meet delivery demand. |
| Is there a law regulating app-based work in Brazil? | Currently, there is no specific law. The government is debating regulation, with a proposal to create a category of "self-employed" workers with basic social rights, without the rigidities of the CLT (Consolidation of Labor Laws). |
| What is the main social challenge of the platform economy? | The lack of social protection for workers. Most don't contribute to social security, leaving them unprotected in the event of illness, accidents, or old age. |
