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An empirical on-the-job search model with preferences for relative earnings: How high is the value of commuting time?

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Author Info
Isacsson, Gunnar () (VTI)
Swärdh, Jan-Erik () (VTI)
Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the average value of commuting time (VoCT) in an empirical on-the-job search model. A large Swedish sample of employee-establishment linked data obtained from administrative registers is used to this end. The sample contains detailed information on the individuals' place of residence and place of work and it is combined with information on travel times and travel distances in the road network. We use two empirical models of the individuals' utility function: a basic model and an augmented model. The latter introduces a set of variables intended to capture the effect of interpersonal comparisons of earnings and commuting times in the individual's utility function and on the estimated VoCT. The basic model suggests the average VoCT to be as high as 232 Swedish kronor (SEK) per hour, which is about two and half times higher than the net hourly wage rate in the sample. If we discard the effect of interpersonal comparisons of earnings and commuting time on job switching, the augmented model instead suggests a value of time of 94 SEK, which is more or less equal to the net hourly wage rate in the sample.

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Paper provided by Swedish National Road & Transport Research Institute (VTI) in its series Working Papers with number 2007:12.

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Length: 31 pages
Date of creation: 20 Sep 2007
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:hhs:vtiwps:2007_012

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Postal: VTI, Transport Economics, P.O. Box 6056, SE-171 06 Solna, Sweden
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Related research
Keywords: Value of commuting time; Revealed preferences; Relative earnings;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
C41 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Duration Analysis
C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Microeconomic Data
J60 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - General
R41 - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics - - Transportation Systems - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion

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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. Neumark, David & Postlewaite, Andrew, 1998. "Relative income concerns and the rise in married women's employment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 157-183, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Randall, Alan & Stoll, John R, 1980. "Consumer's Surplus in Commodity Space," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(3), pages 449-55, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. 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:
  4. Daniel Kahneman & Alan B. Krueger, 2006. "Developments in the Measurement of Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(1), pages 3-24, Winter. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Jan Rouwendal & Erik Meijer, 2001. "Preferences for Housing, Jobs, and Commuting: A Mixed Logit Analysis," Journal of Regional Science, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 41(3), pages 475-505. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. J. Solnick, Sara & Hemenway, David, 1998. "Is more always better?: A survey on positional concerns," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 373-383, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Munro, Alistair & Sugden, Robert, 2003. "On the theory of reference-dependent preferences," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 407-428, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Matthew Rabin, 2006. "A Model of Reference-Dependent Preferences," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 121(4), pages 1133-1165, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. McBride, Michael, 2001. "Relative-income effects on subjective well-being in the cross-section," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 251-278, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Ferrer-i-Carbonell, Ada, 2005. "Income and well-being: an empirical analysis of the comparison income effect," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(5-6), pages 997-1019, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Tversky, Amos & Kahneman, Daniel, 1991. "Loss Aversion in Riskless Choice: A Reference-Dependent Model," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 106(4), pages 1039-61, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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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. Isacsson, Gunnar & Karlström, Anders & Swärdh, Jan-Erik, 2008. "The value of time from subjective data on life satisfaction and job satisfaction: An empirical assessment," Working Papers 2008:2, Swedish National Road & Transport Research Institute (VTI). [Downloadable!]
  2. Swärdh, Jan-Erik, 2008. "Is the intertemporal income elasticity of the value of travel time unity?," Working Papers 2008:3, Swedish National Road & Transport Research Institute (VTI). [Downloadable!]
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