IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i13p4631-d377112.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How Does Commute Time Affect Labor Supply in Urban China? Implications for Active Commuting

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaoyu Wang

    (National School of Development, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

  • Jinquan Gong

    (National School of Development, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

  • Chunan Wang

    (School of Economics and Management, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China)

Abstract

This paper identifies the causal effect of commute time on labor supply in urban China and provides implications for the development of active commuting. Labor supply is measured by daily workhours, workdays per week and weekly workhours, and city average commute time is adopted as an instrumental variable to correct the endogenous problem of individual commute time. We find that in urban China, commute time does not have effect on daily labor supply but has negative effects on workdays per week and weekly labor supply. These results are different from those found in Germany and Spain, and are potentially related to the intense competition among workers in the labor market of China. Moreover, the effect of commute time on workdays per week is stronger for job changed workers. In addition, the effects of commute time on labor supply are not different between males and females. Finally, policy implications for active commuting are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaoyu Wang & Jinquan Gong & Chunan Wang, 2020. "How Does Commute Time Affect Labor Supply in Urban China? Implications for Active Commuting," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-18, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:13:p:4631-:d:377112
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/13/4631/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/13/4631/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cogan, John F, 1981. "Fixed Costs and Labor Supply," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(4), pages 945-963, June.
    2. White, Michelle J., 1988. "Location choice and commuting behavior in cities with decentralized employment," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 129-152, September.
    3. Ian W. H. Parry & Antonio Bento, 2001. "Revenue Recycling and the Welfare Effects of Road Pricing," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 103(4), pages 645-671, December.
    4. White, Michelle J, 1988. "Urban Commuting Journeys Are Not "Wasteful."," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(5), pages 1097-1110, October.
    5. Hamilton, Bruce W, 1989. "Wasteful Commuting Again," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(6), pages 1497-1504, December.
    6. van Ommeren, Jos N. & Gutiérrez-i-Puigarnau, Eva, 2011. "Are workers with a long commute less productive? An empirical analysis of absenteeism," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 1-8, January.
    7. Gershenson, Seth, 2013. "The causal effect of commute time on labor supply: Evidence from a natural experiment involving substitute teachers," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 127-140.
    8. White, M.J., 1988. "Urban Commuting Journeys Are Not Wasteful," Papers 88-10, Michigan - Center for Research on Economic & Social Theory.
    9. Black, Dan A. & Kolesnikova, Natalia & Taylor, Lowell J., 2014. "Why do so few women work in New York (and so many in Minneapolis)? Labor supply of married women across US cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 59-71.
    10. repec:bla:scandj:v:103:y:2001:i:4:p:645-71 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shihe Fu & V Brian Viard, 2019. "Commute costs and labor supply: evidence from a satellite campus," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(3), pages 723-752.
    2. Hirte, Georg & Tscharaktschiew, Stefan, 2018. "The impact of anti-congestion policies and the role of labor-supply margins," CEPIE Working Papers 04/18, Technische Universität Dresden, Center of Public and International Economics (CEPIE).
    3. Gutiérrez-i-Puigarnau, Eva & van Ommeren, Jos N., 2010. "Labour supply and commuting," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 82-89, July.
    4. Eva Gutierrez-i-Puigarnau & Jos van Ommeren, 2009. "Labour Supply and Commuting: Implications for Optimal Road Taxes," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 09-008/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    5. repec:dgr:uvatin:20090008 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Eva Gutiérrez-i-Puigarnau & Jos N van Ommeren, 2015. "Commuting and labour supply revisited," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(14), pages 2551-2563, November.
    7. Giménez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto & Velilla, Jorge, 2021. "Two-way commuting: Asymmetries from time use surveys," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    8. Kobus, Martijn B.W. & Van Ommeren, Jos N. & Rietveld, Piet, 2015. "Student commute time, university presence and academic achievement," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 129-140.
    9. Gimenez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto, 2011. "Commuting Time and Labour Supply: A Causal Effect?," IZA Discussion Papers 5529, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Chunil Kim & Choongik Choi, 2019. "Towards Sustainable Urban Spatial Structure: Does Decentralization Reduce Commuting Times?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-28, February.
    11. Giménez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Velilla, Jorge & Ortega, Raquel, 2022. "Revisiting excess commuting and self-employment: The case of Latin America," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1179, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    12. Carta, Francesca & De Philippis, Marta, 2018. "You've come a long way, baby. Husbands' commuting time and family labour supply," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 25-37.
    13. Cheng, Lin & Chen, Chen & Xiu, Chunliang, 2017. "Excess kindergarten travel in Changchun, Northeast China: A measure of residence-kindergarten spatial mismatch," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 208-216.
    14. Niedzielski, Michael A. & Horner, Mark W. & Xiao, Ningchuan, 2013. "Analyzing scale independence in jobs-housing and commute efficiency metrics," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 129-143.
    15. Mark W. Horner, 2008. "`Optimal' Accessibility Landscapes? Development of a New Methodology for Simulating and Assessing Jobs—Housing Relationships in Urban Regions," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 45(8), pages 1583-1602, July.
    16. Genevieve Giuliano & Kenneth A. Small, 1993. "Is the Journey to Work Explained by Urban Structure?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 30(9), pages 1485-1500, November.
    17. Kimbrough, Gray, 2016. "What Drives Gender Differences in Commuting Behavior: Evidence from the American Time Use Survey," UNCG Economics Working Papers 16-4, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Economics, revised 10 Jun 2016.
    18. Gray Kimbrough, 2016. "What Drives Gender Differences in Commuting? Evidence from the American Time Use Survey," 2016 Papers pki275, Job Market Papers.
    19. Jiangping, Zhou & Chun, Zhang & Xiaojian, Chen & Wei, Huang & Peng, Yu, 2014. "Has the legacy of Danwei persisted in transformations? the jobs-housing balance and commuting efficiency in Xi’an," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 64-76.
    20. Larsen, Morten Marott & Pilegaard, Ninette & Ommeren, Jos Van, 2008. "Congestion and residential moving behaviour," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 378-387, July.
    21. Michael A. Niedzielski, 2006. "A Spatially Disaggregated Approach to Commuting Efficiency," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 43(13), pages 2485-2502, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:13:p:4631-:d:377112. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.