Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/51656 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2011
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 5507
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
The aim of this paper is to provide a new mechanism based on social interactions explaining why distance to jobs can have a negative impact on workers' labor-market outcomes, especially ethnic minorities. Building on Granovetter's idea that weak ties are superior to strong ties for providing support in getting a job, we develop a model in which workers who live far away from jobs tend to have less connections to weak ties. Because of the lack of good public transportation in the US, it is costly (both in terms of time and money) to commute to business centers to meet other types of people who can provide other sources of information about jobs. If distant minority workers mainly rely on their strong ties, who are more likely to be unemployed, there is then little chance of escaping unemployment. It is therefore the separation in both the social and physical space that prevents ethnic minorities from finding a job.
Subjects: 
weak ties
labor market
social networks
land rent
JEL: 
A14
J15
R14
Z13
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.