How Does Transport-Related Deprivation Reduce Hours of Work in Australia?1

Abstract

In this study, we examine the effect of transport-related deprivation on hours of work using 17 waves of longitudinal data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia. We measure transport-related deprivation using indicators that reflect transport accessibility and affordability. The overall finding indicates that transport-related deprivation reduces hours of work. This outcome is more pronounced for public transport than private transport, and consistent across instrumental variable techniques, an alternative fixed effect model, and heterogeneity analysis. Further analysis reveals that the hours of work-reducing effect of transport-related deprivation is transmitted through time spent travelling to work.