Effects of Married-Couple Dual-Earner Households on Metropolitan Commuting: Evidence from the Atlanta Metropolitan Area

Abstract

The idea of creating a balance between jobs and housing within different commuter catchment areas of a metropolis has been a prominent approach for reducing traffic congestion, air pollution, and journey-to-work times. Married-couple, dual-earner households, in which both spouses are employed, have been identified as an obstacle to the job-housing balance concept because of their constrained ability to choose a residential location near both workplaces. However, this has not yet been conclusively tested. Drawing on the 2000 5% PUMS dataset for metropolitan Atlanta, this article examines the commuting behavior of such households relative to single-earner households. The results challenge the dominant assumption that the average commutes of married-couple, dual-earner households are necessarily longer than those of singleearner households. In fact, after controlling for all forms of socioeconomic factors in the analysis, this study shows there are either no significant differences, or if there are, the average commutes of single-earner households are longer. It is a lack of affordable housing near job locations, or vice versa, and not the presence of dual-earner households, that should be blamed for lengthening commuting time and difficulties in implementing job-housing balances.

The jobs–housing relationship and commuting in Beijing, China: the legacy of Danwei

“…However, the total effect appears to be not significant. This finding supports Sultana (2005) who reported that there were either no significant differences in the average commuting duration between married-couple dualearner households and single-earner households, or if there were, the average commutes of single-earner households are longer. The direct and total effects of education attainment on the jobs-housing relationship are significant and positive, implying that workers with higher educational attainment are more likely to work and live in the same district.…”

The jobs-housing relationship and commuting in Guangzhou, China: Hukou and dual structure

“…The growth of dual-earner families is viewed as a major obstacle undermining the implementation of jobs-housing balance policies, as it would be difficult to find a residence near the workplace of both the husband and the wife (Cervero, 1989). However, Madden (1981), along with Singell and Lillydahl (1986) and Sultana (2005), challenge this view. Their primary arguments are: 1) the residential location decisions of dual-earner households are mainly based on the job location of the male, who is deemed to be the major breadwinner; 2) due to the constraints of household responsibility, females in dual-earner households are more likely to take up jobs near the residence.…”

“…In the United States, female participation in the labour force and hence the number of dual-earner families have increased dramatically since the 1970s (Sultana, 2005). The growth of dual-earner families is viewed as a major obstacle undermining the implementation of jobs-housing balance policies, as it would be difficult to find a residence near the workplace of both the husband and the wife (Cervero, 1989).…”

What about dual-earner households in jobs–housing balance research? An essential issue in transport geography

“…Similarly, using data from the Seattle area, Clark et al (2003) reported that both singleand dual-earner households reduce commuting distances if they move from one residence to another, but pre-and post-move commutes are slightly higher for dual-earner households. On the other hand, drawing on the 2000 5% PUMS dataset for metropolitan Atlanta, Sultana's (2005) analysis shows that dual-earner households are more likely to reduce their commuting time compared to single-earner households, despite the fact that they may have more problems in balancing home and work locations. Her Wndings also conWrm that husbands in dual-earner households have shorter commutes than husbands in single-earner households, and hence the presence of wives in labor markets do not signiWcantly lengthen husbands' commuting time in dual-earner households.…”