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How Far and For How Much? Evidence on Wages and Potential Travel-to-Work Distances from a Survey of the Economically Inactive

Author

Listed:
  • Latreille, Paul L.

    (University of Sheffield)

  • Blackaby, David H.

    (Swansea University)

  • Murphy, Philip D.

    (Swansea University)

  • O'Leary, Nigel C.

    (Swansea University)

  • Sloane, Peter J.

    (Swansea University)

Abstract

The U.K. government has recently committed itself to an ambitious 80 per cent employment rate target. Recognising that achieving this aspiration will require significant numbers of the economically inactive to (re-)engage with the labour market, the government has enacted various policy reforms seeking to encourage those on the fringes of the labour market to do so. The present paper uses unique survey data to examine three factors relevant to these issues, namely the desire to work, minimum acceptable wages and the distance the inactive are prepared to travel to work for a given minimum acceptable wage offer.

Suggested Citation

  • Latreille, Paul L. & Blackaby, David H. & Murphy, Philip D. & O'Leary, Nigel C. & Sloane, Peter J., 2006. "How Far and For How Much? Evidence on Wages and Potential Travel-to-Work Distances from a Survey of the Economically Inactive," IZA Discussion Papers 1976, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1976
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mark E. Schweitzer, 2003. "Ready, willing, and able? measuring labour availability in the UK," Working Papers (Old Series) 0303, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
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    3. Paul Ong & Evelyn Blumenberg, 1998. "Job Access, Commute and Travel Burden among Welfare Recipients," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 35(1), pages 77-93, January.
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    5. Blau, David M, 1991. "Search for Nonwage Job Characteristics: A Test of the Reservation Wage Hypothesis," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 9(2), pages 186-205, April.
    6. Rouwendal, Jan, 1999. "Spatial job search and commuting distances," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 491-517, July.
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    10. R.W. McQuaid & M. Greig & J. Adams, 2001. "Unemployed Job Seeker Attitudes towards Potential Travel‐to‐Work Times," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 355-368.
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    2. Tabasso, D, 2009. "Temporary Contracts and Monopsony Power in the UK Labour Market," Economics Discussion Papers 8938, University of Essex, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    economic inactivity; reservation wages; travel-to-work distances;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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