Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
ZENODOarrow_drop_down
ZENODO
Journal . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Journal . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
versions View all 2 versions
addClaim

VULNERABILITY PROPAGATION IN INFORMAL LABOR NETWORKS: A GRAPH-THEORETIC FRAMEWORK FOR DETECTING AND DISRUPTING EXPLOITATION IN THE GIG ECONOMY

Authors: Kalpesh A. Gaikwad & Dr. Abhijeet Rawal;

VULNERABILITY PROPAGATION IN INFORMAL LABOR NETWORKS: A GRAPH-THEORETIC FRAMEWORK FOR DETECTING AND DISRUPTING EXPLOITATION IN THE GIG ECONOMY

Abstract

The expansion of platform-based informal labor markets across the developing and developed world has produced a class of workers whose contractual precarity is structurally embedded rather than incidental. This paper proposes a graph-theoretic framework to model these labor markets as weighted directed graphs in which nodes represent workers, employers, and intermediary platforms, and edges encode asymmetric relationships of economic dependency, information inequality, and contractual power. We introduce the concept of vulnerability propagation — a process by which adverse shocks such as wage theft, sudden platform deactivation, or unsafe working conditions spread through the network via contagion dynamics analogous to epidemic spreading models. Drawing on structural hole theory, betweenness centrality, and percolation thresholds, we argue that exploitation is not a random occurrence but a topologically predictable event concentrated at specific network positions. The framework offers a principled basis for policy interventions that target the network architecture itself rather than individual workers or firms, and we illustrate its applicability through a case study of platform-mediated delivery labor markets in urban India.

  • BIP!
    Impact byBIP!
    selected citations
    These citations are derived from selected sources.
    This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    0
    popularity
    This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
    influence
    This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    Average
    impulse
    This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
Upload OA version
Are you the author of this publication? Upload your Open Access version to Zenodo!
It’s fast and easy, just two clicks!