The politics of “deservedness”: the case of on-demand food delivery couriers

L'axe Discriminations et politiques catégorielles du LIEPP a le plaisir de vous inviter au séminaire : 

The politics of “deservedness”: the case of on-demand food delivery couriers

01/06. 12h30-14h.

Salle du LIEPP, Sciences Po, 1 place Saint Thomas d'Aquin, 75007 Paris.

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Intervenant : 

Meng-Hsuan Chou (Associate Professor, Provost’s Chair in Public Policy and Global Affairs, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore)

Présentation : 

Existing studies have consistently pointed to the exploitative working conditions under which food delivery couriers toiled as symbolic of the dark side of algorithmic governance. The on-demand food delivery sector is known for precarity where most couriers are considered “part-time” even though their working conditions have “full-time” features without the corresponding compensation and benefits. Terms such as “algorithmic management,” “algorithmic control,” “despotism,” and “new sweatshops” have been used to describe the relationship between delivery apps and couriers who tend to be from an immigrant or minority background, and have historically experienced systemic discrimination. By determining where (destination) and when (expected arrival time), algorithms push couriers to be creative with how, often at great physical risks, economic costs, and emotional toll. The COVID-19 pandemic has only accentuated these conditions as lockdowns increased the demands for safe distance food deliveries. Scholars and activists have documented organised resistance movements and individual techniques against the exploitative working conditions food couriers face, but attempts to address what appears to be policy failures have been less systematic. In this seminar, I will demonstrate how the theory of social construction and policy design is a promising starting point for considering reforms to improve the working conditions of food delivery couriers. Specifically, this theory provides the analytical tools for us to unpack how policy target groups are socially constructed as “deserving” or “undeserving” of policy benefits, and how these social constructions “feed forward” to determine policy evaluation, and shape politics.

Pour aller plus loin, lire l'article : Chou, M.-H., & Gomes, C. (2023). Politics of on-demand food delivery: Policy design and the power of algorithms. Review of Policy Research, 00.