TY - JOUR
T1 - Gender, race, and the determinants of commuting
T2 - New york in 1990
AU - McLafferty, Sara
N1 - Funding Information:
1This research was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant #SES 90-12916 and by the York University Faculty of Arts. The authors are equally responsible for this work. We are grateful to Sharmistha Bagchi-Sen for organizing the special issue and to two reviewers and the editor for their helpful comments. 2Inequality in American society is still rooted in race and ethnicity (Goldsmith and Blakely, 1992; Schneider and Phelan, 1993; Farley and Frey, 1994; Johnson et al., 1994). However, racial and ethnic categories are the topic of heated debate. A growing body of geographical literature has discussed the dangers of reinforcing inequalities by uncritical adoption of these categories (Jackson, 1989; Smith, 1989; Berg, 1993; Kobayashi and Peake, 1993; Waddell, 1993). Nevertheless, race, as socially constructed in the United States, gives rise to profound social cleavages that limit people's life chances, particularly those of African Americans and Latinos. For this reason, we examine work trips made by three racial/ethnic groups: African Americans, Latinos, and Whites. 3All other race/ethnic groups were omitted. Our analysis does not include Asian residents of the New York CMSA who are of Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, and other Asian backgrounds. 4The New York labor market, with its unprecedented concentration of producer services, cannot be described adequately by national statistics. The sample used to identify gender-typical occupations for each race/ethnic group is large, with over 410,000 workers, ensuring the reliability of the typology.
PY - 1997/4/1
Y1 - 1997/4/1
N2 - This research examines changing race and gender differences in commuting time and their relationships to social and economic restructuring in the New York metropolitan region. During the 1980s, the region's economic base and social fabric changed dramatically with a continued loss of manufacturing employment, rise of service employment, growth of households headed by women, and accelerated suburbanization. Using 1980 and 1990 PUMS data, we analyze gender differences in commuting times in central and suburban areas for African American, Latino, and White workers. We also analyze the determinants of commuting time for each gender/race group in 1980 and 1990. The results indicate that, despite significant restructuring, average commuting times have changed only slightly. Moreover, the major determinants of commuting times have remained stable: wages and means of transportation strongly affect work-trip length for all gender/race groups in all parts of the urban region. Household characteristics have the most significant impacts on commuting times for male workers. Marriage lengthens commuting times for men of all race/ethnic groups, reflecting the domestic division of labor and time for married couples. For White women, particularly in the suburbs, the presence of children leads to shorter work trips.
AB - This research examines changing race and gender differences in commuting time and their relationships to social and economic restructuring in the New York metropolitan region. During the 1980s, the region's economic base and social fabric changed dramatically with a continued loss of manufacturing employment, rise of service employment, growth of households headed by women, and accelerated suburbanization. Using 1980 and 1990 PUMS data, we analyze gender differences in commuting times in central and suburban areas for African American, Latino, and White workers. We also analyze the determinants of commuting time for each gender/race group in 1980 and 1990. The results indicate that, despite significant restructuring, average commuting times have changed only slightly. Moreover, the major determinants of commuting times have remained stable: wages and means of transportation strongly affect work-trip length for all gender/race groups in all parts of the urban region. Household characteristics have the most significant impacts on commuting times for male workers. Marriage lengthens commuting times for men of all race/ethnic groups, reflecting the domestic division of labor and time for married couples. For White women, particularly in the suburbs, the presence of children leads to shorter work trips.
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U2 - 10.2747/0272-3638.18.3.192
DO - 10.2747/0272-3638.18.3.192
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0031409470
VL - 18
SP - 192
EP - 212
JO - Urban Geography
JF - Urban Geography
SN - 0272-3638
IS - 3
ER -