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Search Theory and Commuting Behavior

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Author Info
Jan Rouwendal () (Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

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Abstract

In this paper I argue that search theory is a useful addition to the way economists and geographers have approached the study of commuting behavior. This is illustrated by showing that introduction of a spatial element into the standard model of job search leads to the prediction of critical isochrones. Moreover, in the context of an urban economy with decentralized employment the spatial search model predicts excess commuting. Search theory also suggests that regression towards the mean may play a confusing role in data describing the development of commutes over time, such as has been used in recent empirical work. Finally, the paper develops a simple spatial equilibrium search model in which employers set their wages optimally and searchers determine their reservation wages optimally in mutually consistent ways. The spatial element is crucial for the existence of such an equilibrium in which reservation wages of all searchers and wages set by all employers are identical.

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Paper provided by Tinbergen Institute in its series Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers with number 04-017/3.

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Date of creation: 02 Feb 2004
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Handle: RePEc:dgr:uvatin:20040017

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Related research
Keywords: commuting; search theory; local labor markets;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
R41 - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics - - Transportation Systems - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion
R23 - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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References listed on IDEAS
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. Rouwendal, Jan & van der Vlist, Arno, 2002. "A dynamic model of commutes," ERSA conference papers ersa02p515, European Regional Science Association. [Downloadable!]
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  2. Small, Kenneth A & Song, Shunfeng, 1992. ""Wasteful" Commuting: A Resolution," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(4), pages 888-98, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Rouwendal, Jan, 1999. "Spatial job search and commuting distances," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 491-517, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Rouwendal, Jan, 1998. "Search Theory, Spatial Labor Markets, and Commuting," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 1-22, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. David Levinson & Ajay Kumar, 1994. "The Rational Locator: Why Travel Times Have Remained Stable," Working Papers 199402, University of Minnesota: Nexus Research Group. [Downloadable!]
  6. van Ommeren, Jos & Rietveld, Piet & Nijkamp, Peter, 1997. "Commuting: In Search of Jobs and Residences," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 402-421, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Burdett, Kenneth & Mortensen, Dale T, 1998. "Wage Differentials, Employer Size, and Unemployment," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 39(2), pages 257-73, May.
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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. Gunther Maier, 2009. "Spatial prices, search behavior and location," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 27-48, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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