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Commute costs and labor supply: evidence from a satellite campus

Author

Listed:
  • Shihe Fu
  • V Brian Viard

Abstract

Using the transition of undergraduate teaching from an urban to suburban campus and an exogenous increase in faculty’s commute time, we estimate the causal effect of commute costs on labor supply. Difference-in-differences estimates using individual commute time changes imply that the 1.0–1.5-h round-trip increase in commute time reduces annual teaching hours by 22 (8.4%). Substitution to alternative work activities is minor but class sizes increase and research output decreases. This suggests that work time is highly responsive to commute time for workers with flexibility and has important ramifications for transport policy, city growth and business strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Shihe Fu & V Brian Viard, 2019. "Commute costs and labor supply: evidence from a satellite campus," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(3), pages 723-752.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jecgeo:v:19:y:2019:i:3:p:723-752.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jeg/lby006
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    Cited by:

    1. Jose Alberto Lara-Pulido & Adan L. Martinez-Cruz, 2023. "Stated benefits of teleworking in Mexico City: a discrete choice experiment on office workers," Transportation, Springer, vol. 50(5), pages 1743-1807, October.
    2. Kobus, Martijn B.W. & Van Ommeren, Jos N. & Rietveld, Piet, 2015. "Student commute time, university presence and academic achievement," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 129-140.
    3. Cheng, Hua & Li, Runliang & Liu, Kai & Wei, Fucheng, 2025. "Subway and entrepreneurship," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    4. Chu, Shuai & Wu, Mengfei, 2021. "Does the geographic clustering of universities promote their scientific research performance? Evidence from China," GLO Discussion Paper Series 963, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    5. Liu, Xiuyan & Zhang, Fan & Wang, Qiao, 2025. "More than a new campus: University's spatial expansion, emerging knowledge cluster, and innovation growth," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • H43 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Project Evaluation; Social Discount Rate
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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