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Do rising rents lead to longer commutes? A gravity model of commuting flows in Ireland

Author

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  • Achim Ahrens

    (Economic and Social Research Institute, Ireland
    ETH Zurich, Switzerland)

  • Sean Lyons

    (Economic and Social Research Institute, Ireland
    Department of Economics, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland)

Abstract

The classical monocentric city model suggests that property prices decrease and transport costs rise with distance to the urban centre, implying that employees face a trade-off between long commutes and high housing costs when making location decisions. Accordingly, some commuters might be forced to take on longer commutes due to rising rents in central locations. In this study, we investigate empirically whether the rental differential between employment centres and residential areas predicts changes in average commuting times. To this end, we consider a gravity model of commuting flows for Ireland over 2011–2016. We present results for Ireland and the metropolitan area of Dublin, which constitutes the largest commuting region in Ireland. The results imply that a 10% rise in rents in employment centres is associated with an up to 0.6 minute rise in one-way daily average commuting times nationally (about 2.2% of the average commute duration).

Suggested Citation

  • Achim Ahrens & Sean Lyons, 2021. "Do rising rents lead to longer commutes? A gravity model of commuting flows in Ireland," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(2), pages 264-279, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:58:y:2021:i:2:p:264-279
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098020910698
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Shawn Berry, 2024. "An income-based approach to modeling commuting distance in the Toronto area," Papers 2401.11343, arXiv.org.
    2. Franklin Obeng-Odoom, 2020. "Teaching Sustainability: From Monism and Pluralism to Citizenship," Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, , vol. 14(2), pages 235-252, September.
    3. Tim-Benjamin Lembcke & Mathias Willnat & Henrik Lechte & Maike Greve & Julia Heinsohn & Alfred Benedikt Brendel, 2021. "Mobility Need-Adaptive Housing Platforms: The Benefit of a Commute Time Search Feature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-14, March.
    4. Piliuk, Anastasiia & Semerikova, Elena & Nastansky, Andreas, 2023. "Determinants of commuting flows in Germany," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 71, pages 99-127.

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