Work In Progress

"Public Transportation and Occupational Outcomes: Evidence from Early 20th-Century Manhattan"

Abstract (preliminary)

Urban areas worldwide have experienced substantial growth in the development of public transportation. This study explores whether access to public transportation improved the labor market trajectories of urban residents in the pre-automobile era. By exploiting the opening of Manhattan’s first subway line in 1904, I estimate the effects of subway proximity on individuals’ occupational outcomes. Using linked US Censuses, I find that male Manhattan residents living close to subway stations in 1900 had higher occupational income by 1910. The findings suggest that proximity to urban transit enhanced access to better occupational opportunities.