IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/urbstu/v44y2007i4p723-750.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do Two-earner Households Base Their Choice of Residential Location on Both Incomes?

Author

Listed:
  • Diana Mok

    (Department of Geography, University of Western Ontario, Social Science Centre, London, Ontario, N6A5C2, Canada, dmok3@uwo.ca)

Abstract

This article focuses on the role of individual incomes in the residential location decisions of two-earner households. Conventional studies often treat households as a black box and describe them by a single utility function. The article raises the question, "Is the household utility paradigm an adequate framework for understanding the location decisions of two-earner households?". It tests an implication of the household utility paradigm-the income-pooling hypothesis for location decisions. The results provide evidence for rejecting the hypothesis among childless families, but fail to provide evidence for rejecting it when children are present. The results raise the need to address intrahousehold dynamics in modelling location decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Diana Mok, 2007. "Do Two-earner Households Base Their Choice of Residential Location on Both Incomes?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 44(4), pages 723-750, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:44:y:2007:i:4:p:723-750
    DOI: 10.1080/00420980601184745
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1080/00420980601184745
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/00420980601184745?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Small, Kenneth A & Hsiao, Cheng, 1985. "Multinomial Logit Specification Tests," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 26(3), pages 619-627, October.
    2. Lundberg, Shelly & Pollak, Robert A, 1993. "Separate Spheres Bargaining and the Marriage Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(6), pages 988-1010, December.
    3. Hoddinott, John & Haddad, Lawrence, 1995. "Does Female Income Share Influence Household Expenditures? Evidence from Cote d'Ivoire," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 57(1), pages 77-96, February.
    4. Tse, Y K, 1987. "A Diagnostic Test for the Multinomial Logit Model," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 5(2), pages 283-286, April.
    5. John F. Kain, 1962. "The Journey‐To‐Work As A Determinant Of Residential Location," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(1), pages 137-160, January.
    6. Manning, Alan, 2003. "The real thin theory: monopsony in modern labour markets," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 105-131, April.
    7. Fortin, Nicole M, 1995. "Allocation Inflexibilities, Female Labor Supply, and Housing Assets Accumulation: Are Women Working to Pay the Mortgage?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(3), pages 524-557, July.
    8. Gary S. Becker, 1981. "A Treatise on the Family," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck81-1, March.
    9. Tim Schwanen & Frans M. Dieleman & Martin Dijst, 2004. "The Impact of Metropolitan Structure on Commute Behavior in the Netherlands: A Multilevel Approach," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(3), pages 304-333, September.
    10. Duncan Thomas, 1990. "Intra-Household Resource Allocation: An Inferential Approach," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 25(4), pages 635-664.
    11. Chiappori, Pierre-Andre, 1988. "Rational Household Labor Supply," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 56(1), pages 63-90, January.
    12. Becker, Gary S, 1974. "A Theory of Marriage: Part II," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(2), pages 11-26, Part II, .
    13. Hausman, Jerry & McFadden, Daniel, 1984. "Specification Tests for the Multinomial Logit Model," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(5), pages 1219-1240, September.
    14. Cropper, Maureen L. & Gordon, Patrice L., 1991. "Wasteful commuting: A re-examination," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 2-13, January.
    15. Shelley Phipps, "undated". "Economics and Well-Being of Canadian Children," Canadian International Labour Network Working Papers 35, McMaster University.
    16. Paul A. Samuelson, 1956. "Social Indifference Curves," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 70(1), pages 1-22.
    17. Gary S. Becker, 1974. "A Theory of Marriage," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of the Family: Marriage, Children, and Human Capital, pages 299-351, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Shelley A. Phipps & Peter S. Burton, 1998. "What’s Mine is Yours? The Influence of Male and Female Incomes on Patterns of Household Expenditure," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 65(260), pages 599-613, November.
    19. Manser, Marilyn & Brown, Murray, 1980. "Marriage and Household Decision-Making: A Bargaining Analysis," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 21(1), pages 31-44, February.
    20. Gera, Surendra & Kuhn, Peter, 1980. "Job location and the journey-to-work: An empirical analysis," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 57-65.
    21. Chiappori, Pierre-Andre, 1992. "Collective Labor Supply and Welfare," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(3), pages 437-467, June.
    22. Plaut, Pnina O., 2006. "The intra-household choices regarding commuting and housing," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 40(7), pages 561-571, August.
    23. Pazy, Asya & Salomon, Ilan & Pintzov, Tovi, 1996. "The impacts of women's careers on their commuting behavior: A case study of Israeli computer professionals," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 269-286, July.
    24. Gera, Surendra & Kuhn, Peter, 1980. "An empirical model of residential location and the journey-to-work in a metropolitan area," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 67-77.
    25. White, Michelle J, 1986. "Sex Differences in Urban Commuting Patterns," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 368-372, May.
    26. T. Paul Schultz, 1990. "Testing the Neoclassical Model of Family Labor Supply and Fertility," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 25(4), pages 599-634.
    27. Becker, Gary S, 1973. "A Theory of Marriage: Part I," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(4), pages 813-846, July-Aug..
    28. Freedman, Ora & Kern, Clifford R., 1997. "A model of workplace and residence choice in two-worker households," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 241-260, June.
    29. E Molin & H Oppewal & H Timmermans, 1999. "Group-Based versus Individual-Based Conjoint Preference Models of Residential Preferences: A Comparative Test," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 31(11), pages 1935-1947, November.
    30. White, Michelle J., 1988. "Location choice and commuting behavior in cities with decentralized employment," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 129-152, September.
    31. Lundberg, Shelly J, 1988. "Labor Supply of Husbands and Wives: A Simultaneous Equations Approach," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 70(2), pages 224-235, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chunil Kim & Choongik Choi, 2019. "Towards Sustainable Urban Spatial Structure: Does Decentralization Reduce Commuting Times?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-28, February.
    2. Ettema, Dick, 2010. "The impact of telecommuting on residential relocation and residential preferences: A latent class modelling approach," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 3(1), pages 7-24.
    3. Giménez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto & Velilla, Jorge, 2022. "Trends in commuting time of European workers: A cross-country analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 327-342.
    4. Jennifer Roberts & Karl Taylor, 2017. "Intra-household commuting choices and local labour markets," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 69(3), pages 734-757.
    5. Abe, Yukiko, 2011. "Family labor supply, commuting time, and residential decisions: The case of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 49-63, March.
    6. Gimenez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto & Velilla, Jorge, 2016. "Commuting Time and Sex Ratios in the US," IZA Discussion Papers 9933, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shelly Lundberg & Aloysius Siow, 2017. "Canadian contributions to family economics," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 50(5), pages 1304-1323, December.
    2. Rubalcava, L. & Thomas, D., 2000. "Family Bargaining and Welfare," Papers 00-10, RAND - Labor and Population Program.
    3. Patricia Apps & Ray Rees, 2007. "Household Models: An Historical Perspective," CESifo Working Paper Series 2172, CESifo.
    4. Klein, Matthew J. & Barham, Bradford L., 2018. "Point Estimates of Household Bargaining Power Using Outside Options," Staff Paper Series 590, University of Wisconsin, Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    5. Kota Ogasawara & Mizuki Komura, 2022. "Consequences of war: Japan’s demographic transition and the marriage market," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 35(3), pages 1037-1069, July.
    6. Jennifer Roberts & Karl Taylor, 2017. "Intra-household commuting choices and local labour markets," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 69(3), pages 734-757.
    7. Jara-Díaz, Sergio & Rosales-Salas, Jorge, 2017. "Beyond transport time: A review of time use modeling," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 209-230.
    8. André de Palma & Nathalie Picard & Ignacio Inoa, 2014. "Discrete choice decision-making with multiple decision-makers within the household," Chapters, in: Stephane Hess & Andrew Daly (ed.), Handbook of Choice Modelling, chapter 16, pages 363-382, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Matthias Doepke & Michèle Tertilt, 2019. "Does female empowerment promote economic development?," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 309-343, December.
    10. Xu, Zeyu, 2007. "A survey on intra-household models and evidence," MPRA Paper 3763, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Kristian Orsini & Amadéo Spadaro, 2006. "Strategic weight within couples: a microsimulation approach," Working Papers halshs-00590395, HAL.
    12. Shelly Lundberg & Robert A. Pollak, 1996. "Bargaining and Distribution in Marriage," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 10(4), pages 139-158, Fall.
    13. Pierre-André Chiappori & José Alberto Molina, 2019. "The intra-spousal balance of power within the family: cross-cultural evidence," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 983, Boston College Department of Economics.
    14. Alberto Alesina & Andrea Ichino & Loukas Karabarbounis, 2011. "Gender-Based Taxation and the Division of Family Chores," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 3(2), pages 1-40, May.
    15. Levin, Mark (Левин, Марк) & Matrosova, Ksenia (Матросова, Ксения), 2018. "Development and Research of Economic Behavior of Households in Changing Conditions [Разработка И Исследование Экономического Поведения Домохозяйств В Изменяющихся Условиях]," Working Papers 041825, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
    16. Olivier Bargain & Miriam Beblo & Denis Beninger & Richard Blundell & Raquel Carrasco & Maria-Concetta Chiuri & François Laisney & Valérie Lechene & Nicolas Moreau & Michal Myck & Javier Ruiz-Castillo , 2006. "Does the Representation of Household Behavior Matter for Welfare Analysis of Tax-benefit Policies? An Introduction," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 99-111, June.
    17. James Andreoni & Eleanor Brown & Isaac Rischall, 2003. "Charitable Giving by Married Couples Who Decides and Why Does it Matter?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 38(1).
    18. Doepke, Matthias & Kindermann, Fabian, 2014. "Intrahousehold Decision Making and Fertility," IZA Discussion Papers 8726, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Aline Bütikofer & Michael Gerfin, 2017. "The economies of scale of living together and how they are shared: estimates based on a collective household model," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 433-453, June.
    20. Nevena, Kulic & Giulia, Dotti Sani, 2015. "Intra-household sharing of financial resources: A non-technical review of the research field and its historical development," MPRA Paper 68420, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:44:y:2007:i:4:p:723-750. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/urbanstudiesjournal .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.