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Testing Alternative Models of Labor Supply. Evidence from Taxi-Drivers in Singapore

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  • Chou, Y.K.

Abstract

In this paper, we use data from a survey of taxi drivers in Singapore to test two competing labor supply hypotheses: the standard intertemporal model and the income targeting model, where workers set an earnings target over some short time horizon. The former predicts positive wage elasticities of labor supply, while an extreme form of the latter implies an elasticity of -1. The estimated wage elasticities are persistently negative, even after correcting for measurement error using instrumental variables. However, these findings are consistent with those in Camerer et al. (1997)'s study of New York City cab drivers.

Suggested Citation

  • Chou, Y.K., 2000. "Testing Alternative Models of Labor Supply. Evidence from Taxi-Drivers in Singapore," Department of Economics - Working Papers Series 768, The University of Melbourne.
    • Handle: RePEc:mlb:wpaper:768
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    File URL: http://www.economics.unimelb.edu.au/downloads/wpapers-00-01/768.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Colin Camerer & Linda Babcock & George Loewenstein & Richard Thaler, 1997. "Labor Supply of New York City Cabdrivers: One Day at a Time," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 112(2), pages 407-441.
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    6. John M. Abowd & David Card, 1984. "Intertemporal Labor Supply in the Presence of Long Term Contracts," Working Papers 546, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    7. N. Gregory Mankiw & Julio J. Rotemberg & Lawrence H. Summers, 1985. "Intertemporal Substitution in Macroeconomics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 100(1), pages 225-251.
    8. Kahneman, Daniel & Tversky, Amos, 1979. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(2), pages 263-291, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Wankyo Chung & Beomsoo Kim, 2012. "Money Transfer and Birth Weight: A Causal Link from Alaska," Discussion Paper Series 1202, Institute of Economic Research, Korea University.
    2. Jonathan V. Hall & Alan B. Krueger, 2015. "An Analysis of the Labor Market for Uber's Driver-Partners in the United States," Working Papers 587, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    3. Francesca Cornaglia & E. Feldman, 2017. "Productivity, Wages, and Marriage: A Case Study in Professional Athletics," Working Papers 818, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    4. Jan Schlüter & Manuel Frewer & Leif Sörensen & Justin Coetzee, 2020. "A stochastic prediction of minibus taxi driver behaviour in South Africa," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-12, December.
    5. Cornaglia, Francesca & Feldman, Naomi E., 2011. "Productivity, Wages, and Marriage: The Case of Major League Baseball," IZA Discussion Papers 5695, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Henry S. Farber, 2005. "Is Tomorrow Another Day? The Labor Supply of New York City Cabdrivers," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(1), pages 46-82, February.
    7. Peter Chinloy & Daniel Winkler, 2011. "Contracts, Labor Supply and Income Targeting," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 113-135, June.
    8. Chang, Tom & Gross, Tal, 2014. "How many pears would a pear packer pack if a pear packer could pack pears at quasi-exogenously varying piece rates?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 1-17.
    9. Jessica Goldberg, 2016. "Kwacha Gonna Do? Experimental Evidence about Labor Supply in Rural Malawi," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 129-149, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    LABOUR ; INCOME ; MODELS ; WAGES;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General

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