---
title: "Unleashing the Sharing Economy in Europe"
summary: |-
  In a presentation to European Parliament, Rob Atkinson explained that Europe and the U.S. both invent at the same rate, but the major difference between their tech ecosystems is that the U.S. innovates more and scales faster.
date: "2016-10-19"
issues: ["Skills and Future of Work", "Emerging Technologies", "Internet"]
authors: ["Robert D. Atkinson"]
canonical_url: "https://itif.org/publications/2016/10/19/unleashing-sharing-economy-europe/"
---

# Unleashing the Sharing Economy in Europe

In a presentation to European Parliament, Rob Atkinson explained that Europe and the U.S. both *invent *at the same rate, but the major difference between their tech ecosystems is that the U.S. *innovates* more and scales faster. This is for two major reasons: First, the U.S. has a single digital market, which makes going to scale much easier for a business. Second, the U.S. by and large has a less restrictive regulatory environment, so entrepreneurs have more freedom to innovate.

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*Source: Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF)*
*URL: https://itif.org/publications/2016/10/19/unleashing-sharing-economy-europe/*