Firm relocations, commuting and relationship stability

0570724 - NHÚ 2024 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Hrehová, Kristína - Sandow, E. - Lindgren, U.
Firm relocations, commuting and relationship stability.
Regional Studies, Regional Science. Roč. 10, č. 1 (2023), s. 194-216. ISSN 2168-1376
Institutional support: RVO:67985998
Keywords : separation * marriage * commuting time
OECD category: Applied Economics, Econometrics
Impact factor: 1.9, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access
https://doi.org/10.1080/21681376.2023.2174042

In this paper we study the impact of firm relocations on commuting distance and the probability of married couples and cohabiting couples with children separating. We use Swedish register data for the period 2010–16 and select employees of relocating firms with one workplace and more than 10 employees. Focusing on this sample allows us to use plausibly exogenous variation in the commuting distance arising from the relocation. We extend the literature on the effect of commuting on relationship stability by reducing the possibility for unobserved time-variant factors to bias our estimates. While previous literature has focused on the difference between short- and long-distance commuting, we focus on changes in the commuting distance that are externally induced by firm management. We find a small but statistically significant negative effect of increased firm relocation distance on family stability. A 10 km change in commuting distance leads to a 0.09 percentage point higher probability of separation if the commuter remains with the firm for the next five years.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0342062