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Mapping the gender division of labor: A geographical exploration of local labor markets in the Twin Cities
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Recent doctoral dissertations
University of New York at Binghamton, 1995. 110 pp. Adviser: Clifford Kern. Order Number DA95439fB Models of intra-urban location typically consider the separate decisions of households and firms. However, these decisions are not made independently of one another. Residential decisions inevitably take into account many different considerations, including the location of the household’s job. Among the determinants of firm location are the residential choices of prospective employees. To appropriately model the location of residences and firms within a metropolitan area, it is necessary to consider the interdependence of the decision process. This study uses a simultaneous model of residential and employment location for the Boston metropolitan area using census tract data from the 1980 Urban Transportation Planning Package and the 1990 Census. These data include the number of workers employed and the number of households residing in each tract. Both employment data and residential data are separated by occupation, and each occupational group is associated with a mean income level. This allows identification of the determinants of location based on income, and can convey information on the relevance of job location for residential location and vice versa. Other variables specific to location analysis, such as local tax rates and public service levels, are included. Residential activity in each tract is specified as a function of accessibility to that particular group’s jobs, to determine if households follow employment, and other exogenous variables such as local tax rates and education quality. Likewise, each employment sector is specified as a function of accessibility to that sector’s workers, to determine if jobs follow residences, and other exogenous variables such as commercial tax rates. The results indicate that employment finds access to workers important in determining location in six of eight occupational groups, but that none of the residential groups find access to their jobs an important determinant of location. This finding is robust over two specifications.
Low-skill job accessibility: Earnings, employment and the urban poor. Trost, Alice Elizabeth, Ph.D. State University of New York at Binghamton, 1995. 129 pp. Chair: CliBford Kern. Order Number DA9520657 This dissertation models and tests a theory referred to as the accessibility hypothesis or the spatial mismatch hypothesis. The hypothesis is one of several theories that attempt to explain depressed earnings and elevated joblessness among low-skilled inner city residents of major metropolitan areas in the United States. In essence, the hypothesis asserts that a spatial mismatch between low-skilled workers and low-skilled employment effectively shuts off the urban poor from suburban employment. This dissertation develops two general equilibrium land use models for a system of
cities possessing the structural properties asserted by the accessibility hypothesis. The models generate clear theoretical predictions about spatial mismatch and its effects on earnings and employment, which are empirically tested. Using 1980 Census data for the fifty largest metropolitan areas in the United States, ordinary least squares estimation provided little or no support for the detrimental effects of spatial mismatch on the earnings of low-skill, centralized, working males. The disequilibrium model is tested by estimating a linear probability model that predicts the likehhood of employment for low-skill, centralized males based on their human capital and job access measures. Ordinary least squares estimation provided relatively strong evidence in support of the negative effects of all three structural components of accessibility on employment probability.
Mapping the gender division of labor: A geographical exploration of local labor markets in the Twin Cities. Wyly, Elvin Kirk, Ph.D. University of Minnesota, 1995. 221 pp. Order Number DA9537911 Despite a growing body of research into the dynamics of gender-based labor market segmentation, scholars know relatively little about the geographical dimensions of women’s employment inside urban areas. This study documents the intraurban geography of women’s employment in the seven-county region of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, focusing on married-couple, dual-earner families. It applies cartographic and statistical analysis to three large-sample data sets. Across all parts of the metropolitan area, wives work closer to home than their husbands. The gender gap narrows in dual-earner households hving in central cities and in upper-middle class neighborhoods near large and diverse job concentrations, but exceeds ten minutes (half the average regional commute time) among wives working in certain lower-middle class suburban labor markets. Gender differences in commuting patterns reflect underlying variation in the distribution of job opportunities, with women’s employment remaining more dispersed across the urban fabric than men’s. Occupational and industrial composition of the male workforce varies widely across the metropolis, thereby distinguishing neighborhoods on the basis of male occupational class; but women’s segmentation into administrative support and services prevails across all parts of the urban area. The duration of the work journey correlates more strongly with socioeconomic status and social role variables among wives than among husbands. Average wage levels for husbands do not vary significantly by intraurban job location, even when controlling for occupation, industry, and part-time work. The links between married women’s commuting and gender-based labor market segmentation are contingent and varied, signifying scale-and context-dependency in geographical analyses of women’s employment.
Recent doctoral dissertations
University of New York at Binghamton, 1995. 110 pp. Adviser: Clifford Kern. Order Number DA95439fB Models of intra-urban location typically consider the separate decisions of households and firms. However, these decisions are not made independently of one another. Residential decisions inevitably take into account many different considerations, including the location of the household’s job. Among the determinants of firm location are the residential choices of prospective employees. To appropriately model the location of residences and firms within a metropolitan area, it is necessary to consider the interdependence of the decision process. This study uses a simultaneous model of residential and employment location for the Boston metropolitan area using census tract data from the 1980 Urban Transportation Planning Package and the 1990 Census. These data include the number of workers employed and the number of households residing in each tract. Both employment data and residential data are separated by occupation, and each occupational group is associated with a mean income level. This allows identification of the determinants of location based on income, and can convey information on the relevance of job location for residential location and vice versa. Other variables specific to location analysis, such as local tax rates and public service levels, are included. Residential activity in each tract is specified as a function of accessibility to that particular group’s jobs, to determine if households follow employment, and other exogenous variables such as local tax rates and education quality. Likewise, each employment sector is specified as a function of accessibility to that sector’s workers, to determine if jobs follow residences, and other exogenous variables such as commercial tax rates. The results indicate that employment finds access to workers important in determining location in six of eight occupational groups, but that none of the residential groups find access to their jobs an important determinant of location. This finding is robust over two specifications.
Low-skill job accessibility: Earnings, employment and the urban poor. Trost, Alice Elizabeth, Ph.D. State University of New York at Binghamton, 1995. 129 pp. Chair: CliBford Kern. Order Number DA9520657 This dissertation models and tests a theory referred to as the accessibility hypothesis or the spatial mismatch hypothesis. The hypothesis is one of several theories that attempt to explain depressed earnings and elevated joblessness among low-skilled inner city residents of major metropolitan areas in the United States. In essence, the hypothesis asserts that a spatial mismatch between low-skilled workers and low-skilled employment effectively shuts off the urban poor from suburban employment. This dissertation develops two general equilibrium land use models for a system of
cities possessing the structural properties asserted by the accessibility hypothesis. The models generate clear theoretical predictions about spatial mismatch and its effects on earnings and employment, which are empirically tested. Using 1980 Census data for the fifty largest metropolitan areas in the United States, ordinary least squares estimation provided little or no support for the detrimental effects of spatial mismatch on the earnings of low-skill, centralized, working males. The disequilibrium model is tested by estimating a linear probability model that predicts the likehhood of employment for low-skill, centralized males based on their human capital and job access measures. Ordinary least squares estimation provided relatively strong evidence in support of the negative effects of all three structural components of accessibility on employment probability.
Mapping the gender division of labor: A geographical exploration of local labor markets in the Twin Cities. Wyly, Elvin Kirk, Ph.D. University of Minnesota, 1995. 221 pp. Order Number DA9537911 Despite a growing body of research into the dynamics of gender-based labor market segmentation, scholars know relatively little about the geographical dimensions of women’s employment inside urban areas. This study documents the intraurban geography of women’s employment in the seven-county region of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, focusing on married-couple, dual-earner families. It applies cartographic and statistical analysis to three large-sample data sets. Across all parts of the metropolitan area, wives work closer to home than their husbands. The gender gap narrows in dual-earner households hving in central cities and in upper-middle class neighborhoods near large and diverse job concentrations, but exceeds ten minutes (half the average regional commute time) among wives working in certain lower-middle class suburban labor markets. Gender differences in commuting patterns reflect underlying variation in the distribution of job opportunities, with women’s employment remaining more dispersed across the urban fabric than men’s. Occupational and industrial composition of the male workforce varies widely across the metropolis, thereby distinguishing neighborhoods on the basis of male occupational class; but women’s segmentation into administrative support and services prevails across all parts of the urban area. The duration of the work journey correlates more strongly with socioeconomic status and social role variables among wives than among husbands. Average wage levels for husbands do not vary significantly by intraurban job location, even when controlling for occupation, industry, and part-time work. The links between married women’s commuting and gender-based labor market segmentation are contingent and varied, signifying scale-and context-dependency in geographical analyses of women’s employment.