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Stress that Doesn't Pay: The Commuting Paradox

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Author Info
Alois Stutzer
Bruno S. Frey

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Abstract

People spend a lot of time commuting and often find it a burden. According to standard economics, the burden of commuting is chosen when compensated either on the labor or on the housing market so that individuals' utility is equalized. However, in a direct test of this strong notion of equilibrium with panel data, we find that people with longer commuting time report systematically lower subjective well-being. This result is robust with regard to a number of alternative explanations. We mention several possibilities of an extended model of human behavior able to explain this "commuting paradox". Copyright © The editors of the "Scandinavian Journal of Economics" 2008 .

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File URL: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9442.2008.00542.x
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Article provided by Blackwell Publishing in its journal Scandinavian Journal of Economics.

Volume (Year): 110 (2008)
Issue (Month): 2 (06)
Pages: 339-366
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Handle: RePEc:bla:scandj:v:110:y:2008:i:2:p:339-366

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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  3. Alois Stutzer & Bruno S. Frey, 2004. "Reported Subjective Well-Being: A Challenge for Economic Theory and Economic Policy," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 124(2), pages 191-231.
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  4. Jos van Ommeren & Gerard J. van den Berg & Cees Gorter, 1998. "Estimating the Marginal Willingness to pay for commuting," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 98-099/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    Other versions:
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  10. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, 2002. "What Can Economists Learn from Happiness Research?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(2), pages 402-435, June.
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  24. Wildasin, David E., 1987. "Theoretical analysis of local public economics," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: E. S. Mills (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 29, pages 1131-1178 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Matthias Benz & Bruno S. Frey, . "Corporate Governance: What can we Learn from Public Governance?," IEW - Working Papers iewwp166, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  2. Armin Falk & Urs Fischbacher & Simon Gächter, . "Living in Two Neighborhoods - Social Interactions in the Lab," IEW - Working Papers iewwp150, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Bruno S. Frey, . "Happiness Research: State and Prospects," IEW - Working Papers iewwp192, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Aleksander Berentsen & Esther Bruegger & Simon Loertscher, . "Heterogeneity, Local Information, and Global Interaction," IEW - Working Papers iewwp182, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  5. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, . "Testing Theories of Happiness," IEW - Working Papers iewwp147, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  6. Ernst Fehr & Klaus M. Schmidt, . "The Role of Equality, Efficiency, and Rawlsian Motives in Social Preferences: A Reply to Engelmann and Strobel," IEW - Working Papers iewwp179, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  7. Matthias Benz & Bruno S. Frey, . "The Value of Autonomy: Evidence from the Self-Employed in 23 Countries," IEW - Working Papers iewwp173, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  8. Aleksander Berentsen & Guillaume Rocheteau, . "On the Friedman Rule in Search Models with Divisible Money," IEW - Working Papers iewwp155, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  9. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, . "Economic Consequences of Mispredicting Utility," IEW - Working Papers iewwp218, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  10. Aleksander Berentsen & Esther Brügger & Simon Lörtscher, . "On Cheating and Whistle-Blowing," IEW - Working Papers iewwp153, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  11. Bruno S. Frey & Simon Luechinger & Alois Stutzer, . "Calculating Tragedy: Assessing the Costs of Terrorism," IEW - Working Papers iewwp205, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  12. Enrico De Giorgi & Stefan Reimann, . "The ?-Beauty Contest: Choosing Numbers, Thinking Intervals," IEW - Working Papers iewwp183, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  13. Bruno S. Frey, . "Direct Democracy for Transition Countries," IEW - Working Papers iewwp165, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  14. Steffen Huck & Michael Kosfeld, . "The Dynamics of Neighbourhood Watch and Norm Enforcement," IEW - Working Papers iewwp199, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  15. Petri Böckerman & Pekka Ilmakunnas, 2005. "Do Job Disamenities Raise Wages or Ruin Job Satisfaction?," Labor and Demography 0501001, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  16. Rainald Borck, 2005. "Social Agglomeration Externalities," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 505, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  17. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, . "Direct Democracy: Designing a Living Constitution," IEW - Working Papers iewwp167, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  18. Thorsten Hens & P. Jean-Jacques Herings & Arkadi Predtetchinskii, . "Limits to Arbitrage when Market Participation Is Restricted," IEW - Working Papers iewwp176, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  19. Igor Evstigneev & Thorsten Hens & Klaus Reiner Schenk-Hoppé, . "Evolutionary Stable Stock Markets," IEW - Working Papers iewwp170, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  20. Andrew E. Clark, 2004. "What makes a good job? Evidence from OECD countries," DELTA Working Papers 2004-28, DELTA (Ecole normale supérieure). [Downloadable!]
  21. Pavlo Blavatskyy, . "Why the Olympics have three prizes and not just one," IEW - Working Papers iewwp200, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  22. Bruno S. Frey & Margit Osterloh, . "Yes, Managers Should be Paid Like Bureaucrats," IEW - Working Papers iewwp187, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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This page was last updated on 2009-11-22.

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