Why is female labor force participation declining in China? A perspective from urban commuting

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Liu, Shenglong; Pan, Xingyu; Wan, Yuanyuan; Zhang, Xiaoming; Zhou, Shaojie
• 署名单位: Tsinghua University; University of Toronto; Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103562
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: Commuting duration; Female labor participation; traffic congestion; Potential urban form; 2SLS estimation

摘要

The increase in commuting time due to traffic congestion is a widespread dilemma faced by most major cities worldwide. In addition to its impact on environmental pollution and personal health issues, it can negatively impact the labor supply. Utilizing microdata from China's 1% population census data in 2015, we find that for every additional minute of commuting time, the probability of labor participation among married women decreases by an average of 0.5 percentage points. The variation in commuting time can explain about 40% of the differences in labor participation rates of married women across cities in our sample. Our study also sheds light on the puzzle of declining female labor participation in China over the past decade, specifically in the context of the nation's rapid urban expansion and escalating commuting time.