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Does Commuting Affect Health?

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  • Annemarie Künn‐Nelen

Abstract

This paper analyzes the relation between commuting time and health in the UK. I focus on four different types of health outcomes: subjective health measures, objective health measures, health behavior, and healthcare utilization. Fixed effect models are estimated with British Household Panel Survey data. I find that whereas objective health and health behavior are barely affected by commuting time, subjective health measures are clearly lower for people who commute longer. A longer commuting time is, moreover, related to more visits to the general practitioner. Effects turn out to be more pronounced for women and for commuters driving a car. For women, commuting time is also negatively related to regular exercise and positively to calling in sick. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Annemarie Künn‐Nelen, 2016. "Does Commuting Affect Health?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(8), pages 984-1004, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:25:y:2016:i:8:p:984-1004
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.3199
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