Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP15181
Authors: Thomas Le Barbanchon; Roland Rathelot; Alexandra Roulet
Abstract: In this paper we relate gender differences in willingness to commute to the gender wage gap. Using unique administrative data on job search criteria, we first document that unemployed women have a lower reservation wage than comparable men and that the maximum commute they are willing to accept is smaller. We also find that they get lower wages and shorter commutes in their next job. We then identify indifference curves between wage and commute using the joint distributions of reservation job attributes and of accepted job bundles. Indifference curves are steeper for women, who value commute around 20% more than men. Through the lens of a job search model where commuting matters, we estimate that around 10% of the gender wage gap is accounted for by gender differences in the willingness to pay for a shorter commute. Finally, we use job application data to test the robustness of our results and to show that female workers do not receive less demand from far-away employers, confirming that most of the gender gap in commute is supply-side driven.
Keywords: gender wage gap; commute
JEL Codes: J16; J22; J31; J64; R20
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Unemployed women have a lower reservation wage compared to men (J79) | Women are willing to accept lower wages for jobs that require shorter commutes (J29) |
| Women receive lower wages and shorter commutes in their next job (J62) | Women are willing to accept lower wages for jobs that require shorter commutes (J29) |
| The maximum acceptable commute for women is significantly lower than that for men (R41) | The gap in maximum acceptable commute is 8 kilometers for single individuals and 24 kilometers for married individuals with children (R41) |
| Differences in the willingness to pay for a shorter commute (R41) | Around 10% of the gender wage gap can be explained (J31) |
| The value of commuting time is approximately 80% of the gross hourly wage for men and 98% for women (J17) | Significant gender difference in the valuation of commuting time (J29) |
| Labor demand does not significantly favor men over women based on commute distance (J29) | Gender gap in commute is primarily supply-side driven (J29) |