Employment Growth Around New Transit Stations in California

Abstract:     
This paper assesses employment growth around more than 200 new transit stations in California that opened between 1992 and 2006. Using difference-in-differences estimation, employment growth within a quarter-mile of new stations was, on average, no faster after stations opened than before they opened, relative to comparison areas; the effects were heterogeneous across individual transit stations. The comparison areas are matched blockgroups, selected for their similarly to station areas on economic, demographic, and geographic variables.

Employment changes are measured precisely using the National Establishment Time-Series (NETS) database, a longitudinal establishment-level dataset that includes employment counts and exact street addresses over time. The analysis overlays geocoded NETS employment data with geocoded transit stations and Census blockgroup-level data.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 30

Keywords: employment growth, transportation, transit-oriented development

JEL Classification: R33, R41, R52, R53

working papers series