Excess Commuting for Two-Worker Households in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area

Intra-household commuting choices and local labour markets

“…7 Their theoretical model, based on that of van Ommeren et al (1998), predicts that two-earner households do not minimize the current commuting distances of both spouses. This excess or 'wasteful' commuting prediction (Hamilton and Rö ell, 1982) was also explored by Kim (1995) in his study of two-earner households in Los Angeles; he shows that two-earner households do aim to minimize joint commuting distances, but they cannot do so because they face more constraints than single-earner households. Similarly, Surprenant-Legault et al (2013) find that, once socio-demographic factors are controlled for, two-worker households commute less (on average) than single-worker households.…”

“…This is especially true for homeowners and those households with children, where other factors such as housing market rigidities and concerns over school access constrain location choices. It is also a valid assumption in the context of dual-earner households where any compromise over the employment choices of both workers also constrains relocation (Kim, 1995;van Ommeren et al, 1998;Clark et al, 2003).…”

Identification of 'Wasteful Commuting' using Search Theory

“…1 For example, Cropper and Gordon (1991), Small and Song (1992), Manning (2003), Rodriguez (2004) and Kim (1995) provide evidence that more commuting occurs than the minimum amount required for workers to commute given the spatial distribution of job and residences. The best evidence based on regional commuting flows suggests that the ratio of actual-to-minimum commuting is at least two, so about 50% of the observed commute is 'wasteful' or 'excess'.…”

“…The best evidence based on regional commuting flows suggests that the ratio of actual-to-minimum commuting is at least two, so about 50% of the observed commute is 'wasteful' or 'excess'. Tests based on regional commuting flows are thought to be contaminated though, in particular because they rely on the strong assumption that workers are homogeneous with respect to jobs and residences (Kim, 1995;Manning, 2003). 2 Because jobs and residences are heterogenous, the calculated 1 The standard procedure is to calculate the necessary minimum amount of commuting between regions if workers were assigned to job locations given the regional distribution of jobs and residences using a standard linear-programming problem.…”

“…2 Because jobs and residences are heterogenous, the calculated 1 The standard procedure is to calculate the necessary minimum amount of commuting between regions if workers were assigned to job locations given the regional distribution of jobs and residences using a standard linear-programming problem. 2 Studies such as Cropper and Gordon (1991) and Kim (1995) use addidional micro information such as number of workers in household to add additional restrictions, but the number of additional restrictions are limited, so the criticism of homogeneity still applies. minimum commuting distance must exceed the actual minimum distance.…”