Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
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Research Article

Racing Against the Algorithm: Platform Labor, Human Capital, and Regulatory Trade-offs in China and Beyond

Tiffany DagelinckxUniversity of California, Los Angeles*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

Since 2008, China's food delivery industry has developed rapidly and become one of the country's largest labor markets. These platforms are characterized by algorithmic management to maximize efficiency. However, the highly standardized and time-sensitive nature of platform work as an outcome of algorithmic management has led to a loss of worker welfare, as it inhibits meaningful skill accumulation and upward professional mobility of workers. This essay investigates the specific mechanisms of labor reallocation and erosion of human capital under algorithmic management and the regulatory tradeoff between welfare and efficiency. Drawing on central and local regulations in the current framework, the analysis highlights that China has developed a hybrid model that recalibrates, rather than dismantles, platform efficiency by restricting its harm while retaining flexibility for employment arrangements. These findings contribute to the broader debates on labor reallocation in the rise of the platform economy and provide a reference for future regulation in other countries faced with the same tradeoff.

Keywords: China's food delivery industry; Algorithmic management; Mechanisms and regulatory tradeoff; Hybrid model
Published: March 9, 2026
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/2026.BJ32043
Volume: CHR Vol.105
pp. 13-21
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