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Household decision making on commuting and the commuting paradox

Author

Listed:
  • Georg Hirte

    (Institute for Transport and Economics, Friedrich List Faculty of Transportation and Traffic Sciences, Technische Universität Dresden (Dresden University of Technology))

  • Ulrike Illmann

    (Institute for Transport and Economics, Friedrich List Faculty of Transportation and Traffic Sciences, Technische Universität Dresden (Dresden University of Technology))

Abstract

This paper explores the commuting paradox in the context of two-partner households by estimating the relationship between the subjective well-being of spouses and their commuting distances. Some of the former literature has found evidence that individuals are not fully compensated for changes in commuting (the commuting paradox). We study unitary, cooperative, and non-cooperative decision-making models to explore which describes the household decision on commuting in the data. We use panel data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP). The regressions show clear evidence for cooperative household decision making on commuting distances (time) and do not show evidence of the commuting paradox. These results are robust in several robustness checks, including alternative definitions of household utility.

Suggested Citation

  • Georg Hirte & Ulrike Illmann, 2019. "Household decision making on commuting and the commuting paradox," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 46(1), pages 63-101, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:empiri:v:46:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s10663-018-9426-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10663-018-9426-6
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Household decision; Family decision; Location theory; Commuting distance; Wage compensation; Subjective well-being;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise

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