Note from the Publisher:  American's tend to be US-centric, and while the passage of the JOBS Act in 2012 has certainly changed America's funding and investing landscape, the growth of the "sharing economy" has also dramatically changed the world's economy.  P2P networks have been particularly "disruptive" in China, where they've enabled small- and medium-sized businesses to gain funding they otherwise could not have through the country's central banking system.  Likewise, in developing nations, these networks have created a massive opportunity for new business development. 

"One of the most profound — and potentially disruptive — developments in the world's economy over past five years has been the rapid growth of the so-called "sharing economy." The technologically driven networks underpinning the concept, also known as the peer-to-peer (P2P) economy, have grown so much that many countries are trying to add P2P to their official gross domestic product data to better monitor the sector's development.

P2P's effect on the developing world will perhaps be the most visible. Because these regions are (by definition) still developing and urbanizing, their economies are more sensitive to new inputs. Small changes in volume can cause great changes in aggregate, leading to a leapfrog effect with new technologies. At the same time, in places that lack a given established industry, these kinds of disruptive technologies can start with a blank canvas."

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