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Stress That Doesn't Pay: The Commuting Paradox

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Author Info
Stutzer, Alois () (University of Zurich and IZA Bonn)
Bruno S. Frey (University of Zurich)

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Abstract

People spend a lot of time commuting and often find it a burden. According to 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, we find that people with longer commuting time report systematically lower subjective well-being. Additional empirical analyses do not find institutional explanations of the empirical results that commuters systematically incur losses. We discuss several possibilities of an extended model of human behavior able to explain this ‘commuting paradox’.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 1278.

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Length: 42 pages
Date of creation: Sep 2004
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1278

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Related research
Keywords: location theory; commuting; compensating variation; subjective well-being;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
D61 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis
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.:
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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!]
    Other versions:
  9. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, . "Economic Consequences of Mispredicting Utility," IEW - Working Papers iewwp218, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Aleksander Berentsen & Esther Brügger & Simon Lörtscher, . "On Cheating and Whistle-Blowing," IEW - Working Papers iewwp153, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  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!]
    Other versions:
  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!]
    Other versions:
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