2. The Effect of Commuting Constraints on Gender Wage Gaps: Spatial Sorting
Abstract: This paper develops a quantitative spatial model in which dual-earner households jointly choose their residence and each spouse’s workplace to quantify how gender differences in commuting constraints affect workplace sorting and the gender wage gap. Men and women in the same occupation face common workplace attractiveness, while gender differences in workplace sorting arise through spouse-specific commuting disutility and household Pareto weights. Gender-specific bilateral commuting gravity models identify commuting-time sensitivity, and a Work-from-Home Bartik instrument identifies the household Pareto weight. The baseline model reproduces the observed gender gap in commuting reasonably well. Counterfactual analysis shows that equalizing Pareto weights widens, rather than reduces, gender gaps in commuting and workplace sorting, whereas equalizing effective commuting sensitivities nearly eliminates the commuting gap and removes most of the model-implied commute-related earnings gap within residence--occupation cells. These results imply that gender differences in commuting and commute-related earnings opportunities are driven primarily by gender differences in commuting sensitivity rather than by asymmetry in household bargaining power.
Presented at :
The European Economic Association and the Econometric Society European Meeting (EEA-ESEM) Congress (Dublin, Ireland), 2026
Western Economic Association International (WEAI) Annual Conference (Denver, U.S.), 2026
Korean Economic Review (KER) International Conference (Jeju, Korea), 2026
Canadian Economics Association (CEA) Annual Conference (Simon Fraser University, Canada), 2026*
** Presented online
1. Remote Work and the Rise of Peripheral Housing Markets: Evidence from South Korea
Abstract: This paper investigates the impact of remote work prevalence on intra-metropolitan housing price growth in South Korea. Using micro-level data from the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS), housing price indices from the Korea Real Estate Board, and demographic data from Statistics Korea, the analysis covers 106 administrative districts (si/gun/gu) across five metropolitan areas from 2019 to 2023. Two-stage least squares (2SLS) estimates reveal systematic spatial heterogeneity: remote work is associated with weaker housing price growth in core urban districts but stronger growth in peripheral areas. These results are robust to alternative outcome measures using rent indices and the inclusion of demographic controls. The findings suggest that, by reducing commuting costs, remote work increases relative housing demand in peripheral districts, thereby reshaping traditional intra-metropolitan price gradients.
Presented at :
Japan Economic Policy Association (JEPA) International Conference (Nagoya, Japan), 2025