The Impact of Public Transportation and Commuting on Urban Labour Markets: Evidence from the New Survey of London Life and Labour, 1929-32

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 the majority of working-class Londoners in the early-twentieth century. Using alternative identification strategies, we estimate a likely causal return of between 1.5 to 3.5 percent of earnings for each additional kilometer travelled. We also show that commuting was an important contributor to improvements in quality of life in the early-twentieth century.

Keywords: labor markets, commuting, public transport, earnings, London