Commutes, neighborhood effects, and compensating differentials: Revisited

This article reexamines a question first posed by Gabriel and Rosenthal [6] : Are minorities compensated for longer commutes by lower housing prices an d better neighborhood amenities? They test this hypothesis by comparing the commutes of similar black and white household heads who reside in the same neighborhood. Gabriel and Rosenthal's sample combines households from many metropolitan areas and regions of the country. This article reexamines rac ial differences in commute time using samples drawn from individual metropo litan areas. The basic findings of Gabriel and Rosenthal are confirmed for some metropolitan areas, but the analysis also indicates that both racial c ommute time differences and the sources of potential compensation vary dram atically by metropolitan area. (C) 1999 Academic Press.