A Wage-Efficiency Spatial Model for US Self-Employed Workers

Arbeitspapier

In this paper, we study self-employment in a theoretical setting derived from wage-efficiency spatial models, where leisure and effort at work are complementary. We develop a spatial model of self-employment in which effort at work and commuting are negatively related, and thus the probability of self-employment decreases with "expected" commuting time. We use time-use data from the American Time Use Survey 2003-2014 to analyze the spatial distribution of self-employment across metropolitan areas in the US, focusing on the relationship between commuting time and the probability of self-employment. Our empirical results show that the probability of self-employment is negatively related to the "expected" commuting time, giving empirical support to our theoretical model. Furthermore, we propose a GIS model to show that commuting and self-employment rates are, in relation to unemployment rates, negatively related.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 9634

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure ; Time Allocation and Labor Supply ; Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity ; Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise
• Subject: wage-efficiency ; self-employment ; commuting ; leisure ; American Time Use Survey

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Gimenez-Nadal, J. Ignacio ; Molina, José Alberto ; Velilla, Jorge
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2016

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/130315
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET