Directions: Study the following information carefully and answer the question given below.
Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
The meteoric rise of the platform-based gig economy has fundamentally restructured contemporary urban labour markets. Through smartphone applications and algorithmic dispatch systems, ride-hailing and food-delivery corporations have unlocked immense consumer convenience while granting workers nominal scheduling flexibility. For millions of youths and migrant workers in the Global South, gig platforms serve as vital economic shock absorbers, offering instant access to subsistence income in economies where formal corporate employment remains severely constrained.
However, labour sociologists and legal scholars emphasize that this algorithmic paradigm externalizes operational risks entirely onto vulnerable individuals. By classifying gig workers as "independent contractors" rather than employees, platform conglomerates systematically evade statutory obligationsโincluding guaranteed minimum wages, paid medical leave, occupational injury compensation, and retirement pensions. Workers find their daily earnings dictated by opaque automated metrics, customer rating volatility, and dynamic pricing algorithms that reduce human dignity to disposable data points. To restore equilibrium, labor reform advocates are demanding statutory frameworks that recognize gig workers as dependent contractors entitled to portable social security benefits, algorithmic transparency, and collective bargaining rights.
According to the passage, why do gig platforms serve as "economic shock absorbers" in the Global South?
๐ก Solution & Explanation:
Correct Answer: (B)
Core Concept: Reading Comprehension โ Detail Retrieval
Step-by-Step Solution:
1. Paragraph 1 explains: 'gig platforms serve as vital economic shock absorbers, offering instant access to subsistence income in economies where formal corporate employment remains severely constrained.'
2. Option (B) is an exact match.
3. Options B, C, and D are false.
Key Shortcut / Exam Tip: Shock absorbers = Instant access to subsistence income amid scarce formal jobs.