Living in Two Worlds: A Review of Home‐to‐Work Decisions

IntroductionCommuting has been the subject of increasing public attention and intensive research in recent decades (see Nijkamp and Rouwendal, 2004;Rouwendal and Nijkamp, 2004). The increasing role of commuting has far-reaching consequences for public policy concerning traffic, infrastructure, and spatial planning. Commuting flows connect labor and housing markets. Knowledge of the intensity and spatial range of this interaction is required to determine the accessibility of a location to centers of population and employment. Theoretical and applied research on commuting issues can help to clarify the relevant effects.The analysis of the sizes of commuting flows between cities or regions, and their effects on housing and labor markets, is part of the much wider area of spatial interaction modeling (Batten and Boyce, 1986;Fotheringham and O'Kelly, 1989;Nijkamp and Reggiani, 1992). Spatial interaction models are applied not only to commuting but also to migration, international trade, shopping behavior, and other topics related to origin^destination flows. An essential element of these models is that interaction decreases with distance or travel cost. This is described by a distance-decay function. However, distance is not the only factor affecting the intensity of the interaction. Also important are the sizes (however measured) of origin and destination. And it is increasingly recognized that additionally the positions of origin and destination in the spatial system are relevant. The research in this paper is an application of spatial interaction modeling, and the methodological issues are not limited to commuting.An important issue in spatial interaction modeling is the choice of the functional form of distance or travel cost. In the literature, the distance-decay function is usually assumed to be an exponential or a power function:`I n practice, the debate over the form of the cost function in spatial interaction models has evolved to a reasonably widespread consensus that the exponential function is more appropriate for analysing short distance interactions such as those that take place within an urban area. The power function, conversely, is generally held to be more appropriate for analysing longer distance interactions such as migration flows '' (Fotheringham and O'Kelly, 1989, pages 12^13 Abstract. In this paper we investigate the functional form of distance decay for commuting flows between municipalities in Denmark. Our inference is based on a single equation that includes variables to capture the effect of spatial structure. Special attention is given to a proper estimation method: we estimate the distance-decay parameters by nonlinear weighted least-squares with balancing factors. It appears that neither an exponential nor a power distance-decay function fits the data well. Using a spline regression we find a cost elasticity of À4 for distances around 20 km and a much smaller value for shorter and longer distances. It appears that the logarithm of distance decay can be described adequately as a (downwar...

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Exponential or Power Distance-Decay for Commuting? An Alternative Specification

2009

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“…Models of commuting flows have become an increasingly important topic within regional science (Gorman et al, 2007;Rouwendal and Nijkamp, 2004). One obvious use for such models is in making predictions about how changes in the spatial distribution of jobs and workers or the infrastructure connecting them might affect a region's economy.…”

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confidence: 99%

The Spatial Transferability of Parameters in a Gravity Model of Commuting Flows

McArthur

Kleppe²,

Thorsen³

et al. 2010

SSRN Journal

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This paper studies whether gravity model parameters estimated in one geographic area can give reasonable predictions of commuting flows in another. To do this, three sets of parameters are estimated for geographically proximate yet separate regions in south-west Norway. All possible combinations of data and parameters are considered, giving a total of nine cases. Of particular importance is the distinction between statistical equality of parameters and 'practical' equality i.e. are the differences in predictions big enough to matter. A new type test based on the Standardised Root Mean Square Error (SRMSE) and Monte Carlo simulation is proposed and utilised.

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“…For men, a higher (potential) wage rate lowers their weekly hours of paid work (Van der Lippe & Siegers, 1994, De Meester et al, 2007. With respect to commuting, having a high level of education and having a high wage rate have been found to result in longer commuting trips (Rouwendal & Nijkamp, 2004;Van Ham & Hooimeijer, 2005). Since highly paid jobs tend to be more widely dispersed than low paid jobs, the highly educated workers need to travel further to reach a suitable job (Van Ham, 2002).…”

Section: Socio-economic Characteristics and Working And Commuting Arrmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symmetry and Asymmetry in Working and Commuting Arrangements between Partners in the Netherlands: Does the Residential Context Matter?

Meester

Ham

2009

Environ Plan A

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This is the author's Post-print version (final draft post-refereeing as accepted for publication by the journal). The definitive, peer-reviewed and edited version of thisAbstract. Time spent on work and commuting within dual earner households is often analysed separately for individuals, but this does no justice to the reality of dual earner households where decisions on work and commuting are made in a household context. This article reports on a quantitative study of the impact of the residential context on working arrangements and commuting arrangements of partners in couple and family households. Using multinomial logistic regression we analysed data from the Netherlands Housing Demand Survey (2002) and the ABF Real Estate Monitor (2004). The results show a (gendered) effect of residential location in terms of degree of urbanization and job access on both working and commuting arrangements. Good access to jobs makes it more likely that couples have a symmetric full-time working arrangement and also more likely that both partners work far away. Those in symmetric full-time working arrangements are also those most likely to be in symmetric close commuting arrangements. This finding reflects the substantial time pressure on such households.

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Living in Two Worlds: A Review of Home‐to‐Work Decisions

Cited by 75 publications

References 60 publications

Exponential or Power Distance-Decay for Commuting? An Alternative Specification

Exponential or Power Distance-Decay for Commuting? An Alternative Specification

The Spatial Transferability of Parameters in a Gravity Model of Commuting Flows

Symmetry and Asymmetry in Working and Commuting Arrangements between Partners in the Netherlands: Does the Residential Context Matter?

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