Commuting time decisions for two-worker households in Korea

This study tests for the effect of earning potential on commuting time of working husbands and wives in two-worker households in South Korea. The theoretical result obtained by Alonso (1964) and Muth (1969) is that a higher wage has offsetting effects on commuting by increasing both the demand for housing and the time cost of commuting. This study places these offsetting effects in a model of bid-rent for a two-worker household that extends the model presented by White (1977). The basic finding is that an increase in the wage rate increases the worker's commuting time by a small statistically significant amount. The result holds for both husbands and wives. The net effect of a higher wage on commuting time is positive and small. As other studies have found, commuting time is greater for husbands than for wives.