The impact of public transportation and commuting on urban labour markets: evidence from the new survey of London life and labour, 1929-32

Andrew J. Seltzer and Jonathan Wadsworth

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: This paper examines the consequences of the commuter transport revolution on working-class labour markets in London, circa 1930. Using GIS-based data constructed from the New Survey of London Life and Labour, we examine the extent of commuting and estimate the earnings returns to commuting. We show that commuting was an important feature for most working-class Londoners in the early-twentieth century. Using a variety of identifying procedures to address the endogeneity of distance commuted, we estimate a likely causal return of between 1.5 to 3.5 percent of earnings for each additional kilometre travelled. We also show that commuting was an important contributor to improvements in quality of life in the early-twentieth century.

Keywords: commuting; public transport; earnings; London (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J01 L91 N34 N74 N94 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 74 pages
Date: 2022-09-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his, nep-tre and nep-ure
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Downloads: (external link)
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/117986/ Open access version. (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: The impact of public transportation and commuting on urban labour markets: evidence from the new survey of London life and labour, 1929-32 (2022)
Working Paper: The impact of public transportation and commuting on urban labour markets: evidence from the New Survey of London Life and Labour, 1929-32 (2021)
Working Paper: The Impact of Public Transportation and Commuting on Urban Labour Markets: Evidence from the New Survey of London Life and Labour, 1929-32 (2021)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:117986

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