This paper shows the rapid development of the digital economy, the platform economy based on digital platforms is gradually becoming an important part of the labor market, significantly transforming traditional labor relations and employment models. Through algorithmic control and flexible employment patterns, the platform economy provides workers with employment convenience and flexibility, while also bringing multiple challenges, such as ambiguous labor relations, employment instability, and a lack of social security. This paper reviews the current research progress in the fields of platform economy and labor market flexibility, focusing on exploring the impact of algorithmic management on labor autonomy, the controversies surrounding the legal positioning of platform workers, and the adaptability of social security systems to the platform economy. By sorting out relevant research results, this paper points out that existing literature mainly has limitations in terms of regionality and a single theoretical perspective. On this basis, it proposes future research directions, including conducting cross-country and cross-industry comparative studies, exploring innovations in algorithmic governance models, and improving the design of social security systems for platform economy workers, aiming to provide references for research and policymaking in related fields.
Chengxin Liu (Tue,) studied this question.