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To Migrate or to Commute?

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  • Stefan Gruber

    (UMIT - Institute for Health Economics and Management, RCEA and Austrian Center for Labor Economics and the Analysis of the Welfare State)

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the agglomeration patterns in a New Economic Geography model when commuting is allowed. The introduction of both commuting and housing costs leads to a disentangling of the agglomeration of firms and people. Commuting al- lows workers to continue living in agglomerations and enjoying the benefits of a larger product variety, despite high housing costs, since they may choose to commute to another place where they receive higher wages, which in turn enables them to cover high housing costs at their place of living. This observation is especially true for skilled workers, who generally are more mobile than unskilled workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Stefan Gruber, 2010. "To Migrate or to Commute?," Review of Economic Analysis, Digital Initiatives at the University of Waterloo Library, vol. 2(1), pages 110-134, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:ren:journl:v:2:y:2010:i:1:p:110-134
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Stefan Gruber & Anna Soci, 2010. "Agglomeration, Agriculture, and the Perspective of the Periphery," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 43-72.
    2. Sandow, Erika & Westin, Kerstin, 2010. "The persevering commuter - Duration of long-distance commuting," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 44(6), pages 433-445, July.
    3. Jiajia Wei & Qiyan Wang & Wang Gao, 2022. "How Commuting Time Affects Employees’ Income in China’s Urbanization Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-18, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    New Economic Geography; Commuting; Mobility of workers; Commuting costs; Housing costs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)

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