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How Important Is Access to Jobs? Old Question – Improved Answer

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  • Aslund, Olof

    (Uppsala University)

  • Östh, John

    (Uppsala University)

  • Zenou, Yves

    (Monash University)

Abstract

We study the impact of job proximity on individual employment and earnings. The analysis exploits a Swedish refugee dispersal policy to get exogenous variation in individual locations. Using very detailed data on the exact location of all residences and workplaces in Sweden, we find that having been placed in a location with poor job access in 1990-91 adversely affected employment in 1999. Doubling the number of jobs in the initial location in 1990-91 is associated with 2.9 percentage points higher employment probability in 1999. The analysis suggests that residential sorting leads to underestimation of the impact of job access.

Suggested Citation

  • Aslund, Olof & Östh, John & Zenou, Yves, 2006. "How Important Is Access to Jobs? Old Question – Improved Answer," IZA Discussion Papers 2051, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2051
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    natural experiment; endogenous location; spatial mismatch;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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