IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/boi/wpaper/2019.03.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Effect of Public Transit on Employment in Israel's Arab Society

Author

Listed:
  • Arnon Barak

    (Bank of Israel)

Abstract

The Arab population is characterized by low employment rates, particularly among women, due to cultural characteristics and structural barriers. A common argument is that one of these barriers is the lack of transit access to places of employment, due to the low level of public transit service in the Arab localities. This study examines that argument by looking at the reform in public transit that affected many Arab localities between 2010 and 2015 to varying degrees and at various times. In order to identify the reform’s effect on employment, we use, for the first time in Israel, administrative data regarding trips on bus lines in the Arab localities, and distinguish between people who benefited from access to a private vehicle and those who did not, assuming that the employment decisions of the latter are more sensitive to the level of service. The results of the study show that public transit has a weak effect on employment rates among the Arab population. In particular, we did not find that the reform led women to join the labor force. However, it did help some working women continue to work—educated women aged 30–50 with no access to a private vehicle, a group that comprises about 8 percent of all working-age Arab women (20-64). If 10 bus trips per day are added to the locality—similar to the average increase in recent years—the chance that such a woman will remain employed increases by about 0.5 percent. We also found that the improvement in service helps older men (aged 40–64) with no access to a private vehicle to integrate into the labor market, and that in this case, the effect is even slightly greater—about 0.7 percent. This group comprises about 8 percent of all Arab working-age men (20–64). The findings of the study support the argument that in order to increase employment rates among the Arab population, other barriers must be removed, and public transit is, at the very most, a complementary factor in this regard. Improving public transit helps women and men who have overcome structural and cultural barriers and are on the verge of employment. Beyond that, it is reasonable to assume that the reform improved the quality of life in the Arab community in other ways. The number of passengers increased significantly, which shows that the population used public transit for various needs and benefited from its expansion, since it reduces the cost of travel in terms of time and money. The study was conducted with limited available data, and relates only to the additional service between 2010 and 2015. Since it is not likely that the additional service is immediately fully reflected in employment, some of the ramifications of the improved service, which has expanded significantly in the years since then, may not be reflected in this study.​

Suggested Citation

  • Arnon Barak, 2019. "The Effect of Public Transit on Employment in Israel's Arab Society," Bank of Israel Working Papers 2019.03, Bank of Israel.
  • Handle: RePEc:boi:wpaper:2019.03
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://boiwebrepec.azurefd.net/RePEc/boi/wpaper/WP_2019.03.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2019
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gautier, Pieter A. & Zenou, Yves, 2010. "Car ownership and the labor market of ethnic minorities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 392-403, May.
    2. Mayer, Thierry & Trevien, Corentin, 2017. "The impact of urban public transportation evidence from the Paris region," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 1-21.
    3. Justin Tyndall, 2017. "Waiting for the R train: Public transportation and employment," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(2), pages 520-537, February.
    4. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/6d427am2i18m5a5elpijpm1e8l is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Tanya Suhoy & Yotam Sofer, 2019. "Getting to Work in Israel: Locality and Individual Effects," Bank of Israel Working Papers 2019.02, Bank of Israel.
    6. Holzer, Harry J. & Quigley, John M. & Raphael, Steven, 2003. "Public Transit and the Spatial Distribution of Minority Employment: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt1x09f824, University of California Transportation Center.
    7. Thomas W. Sanchez & Qing Shen & Zhong-Ren Peng, 2004. "Transit Mobility, Jobs Access and Low-income Labour Participation in US Metropolitan Areas," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 41(7), pages 1313-1331, June.
    8. Eran Yashiv & Nitsa Kasir, 2012. "Arab Women in the Israeli Labor Market: Characteristics and Policy Proposals," Bank of Israel Working Papers 2012.05, Bank of Israel.
    9. Harry J. Holzer & John M. Quigley & Steven Raphael, 2003. "Public transit and the spatial distribution of minority employment: Evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(3), pages 415-441.
    10. Baum, Charles L., 2009. "The effects of vehicle ownership on employment," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 151-163, November.
    11. John F. Kain, 1968. "Housing Segregation, Negro Employment, and Metropolitan Decentralization," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 82(2), pages 175-197.
    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. Abu-Qarn, Aamer & Lichtman-Sadot, Shirlee, 2019. "Connecting Disadvantaged Communities to Work and Higher Education Opportunities: Evidence from Public Transportation Penetration to Arab Towns in Israel," IZA Discussion Papers 12824, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Aamer Abu‐Qarn & Shirlee Lichtman‐Sadot, 2022. "The Trade‐Off Between Work and Education: Evidence from Public Transportation Penetration to Arab Towns in Israel," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(1), pages 193-225, January.
    3. Antonio Di Paolo & Anna Matas & Josep Lluís Raymond, 2017. "Job accessibility and job-education mismatch in the metropolitan area of Barcelona," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96, pages 91-112, March.
    4. Patricia Yañez-Pagans & Daniel Martinez & Oscar A. Mitnik & Lynn Scholl & Antonia Vazquez, 2019. "Urban transport systems in Latin America and the Caribbean: lessons and challenges," Latin American Economic Review, Springer;Centro de Investigaciòn y Docencia Económica (CIDE), vol. 28(1), pages 1-25, December.
    5. Johnson, Daniel & Ercolani, Marco & Mackie, Peter, 2017. "Econometric analysis of the link between public transport accessibility and employment," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1-9.
    6. Yanez-Pagans, Patricia & Martinez, Daniel & Mitnik, Oscar A. & Scholl, Lynn & Vazquez, Antonia, 2018. "Urban Transport Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean: Challenges and Lessons Learned," IZA Discussion Papers 11812, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Phillips, David C., 2014. "Getting to work: Experimental evidence on job search and transportation costs," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 72-82.
    8. Olof Åslund & John Östh & Yves Zenou, 2010. "How important is access to jobs? Old question--improved answer," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 10(3), pages 389-422, May.
    9. Tito Boeri & Marta De Philippis & Eleonora Patacchini & Michele Pellizzari, 2015. "Immigration, Housing Discrimination and Employment," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(586), pages 82-114, August.
    10. Justin Tyndall, 2017. "Waiting for the R train: Public transportation and employment," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(2), pages 520-537, February.
    11. Gautier, Pieter A. & Zenou, Yves, 2010. "Car ownership and the labor market of ethnic minorities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 392-403, May.
    12. Fredrik Andersson & John C. Haltiwanger & Mark J. Kutzbach & Henry O. Pollakowski & Daniel H. Weinberg, 2018. "Job Displacement and the Duration of Joblessness: The Role of Spatial Mismatch," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 100(2), pages 203-218, May.
    13. Sylvie Fol & Gabriel Dupuy & Olivier Coutard, 2007. "Transport Policy and the Car Divide in the UK, the US and France: Beyond the Environmental Debate," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 802-818, December.
    14. Scholl, Lynn & Martínez, Daniel & Mitnik, Oscar A. & Oviedo, Daniel & Yáñez-Pagans, Patricia, 2018. "A Rapid Road to Employment?: The Impacts of a Bus Rapid Transit System in Lima," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 9452, Inter-American Development Bank.
    15. Fredrik Andersson & John C. Haltiwanger & Mark J. Kutzbach & Henry O. Pollakowski & Daniel H. Weinberg, 2018. "Job Displacement and the Duration of Joblessness: The Role of Spatial Mismatch," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 100(2), pages 203-218, May.
    16. Antonio Di Paolo & Anna Matas & Josep Lluís Raymond, 2014. "Job accessibility, employment and job-education mismatch in the metropolitan area of Barcelona," Working Papers XREAP2014-05, Xarxa de Referència en Economia Aplicada (XREAP), revised May 2014.
    17. Tyndall, Justin, 2021. "The local labour market effects of light rail transit," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    18. Trajkovski, Samantha & Zabel, Jeffrey & Schwartz, Amy Ellen, 2021. "Do school buses make school choice work?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    19. Fei Li & Christopher Kajetan Wyczalkowski, 2023. "How buses alleviate unemployment and poverty: Lessons from a natural experiment in Clayton County, GA," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(13), pages 2632-2650, October.
    20. Maré, David C. & Fabling, Richard & Hyslop, Dean, 2023. "Job Displacement and Local Employment Density," IZA Discussion Papers 16685, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:boi:wpaper:2019.03. 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: Yossi Yakhin (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/boigvil.html .

    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.