The growth of public transport networks in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries had profound effects on commuting in the industrialized world, yet the consequences for labor markets during this important period of historical development remains largely unstudied. This paper draws on a unique dataset combining individual commuting and wage information for working-class residents of London, circa 1930, to analyse, for the first time, the nature of and returns to commuting shortly after when networks were first built. A sizeable majority of working-class Londoners worked within a short walk of their residence in 1890. By 1930, over 70 percent commuted at least one kilometer. Commuting allowed workers to search for jobs over a wider geographic area and across a larger number of potential employers. This, in turn, potentially increased workers’ bargaining power and improved employer-employee matching. We show that wage returns to commuting were on the order of 1.5-3.5 percent per kilometer travelled. Access to public transport increased both the probability of commuting and distance commuted but had little or no direct effect on the probability of being employed or on earnings. We argue that these results are consistent with a search and matching framework; commuting led to workers finding jobs more suited to their skills and to better matches with employers. We also provide descriptive evidence from contemporary sources to describe the impact of commuting on improving quality of life by reducing urban crowding.

十九世纪末和二十世纪初公共交通网络的发展对工业化世界的通勤产生了深远的影响，但在这一重要的历史发展时期对劳动力市场的影响仍然很大程度上未被研究。本文利用一个独特的数据集，结合了 1930 年左右伦敦工人阶级居民的个人通勤和工资信息，首次分析了网络首次建成后不久通勤的性质和回归情况。1890 年，绝大多数伦敦工人阶级在距离住所不远的地方工作。到 1930 年，超过 70% 的人的通勤距离至少为一公里。通勤使工人能够在更广泛的地理区域和更多的潜在雇主中寻找工作。反过来，这 潜在地提高工人的议价能力并改善雇主与雇员的匹配。我们发现，通勤带来的工资回报约为每行驶一公里 1.5-3.5%。获得公共交通增加了通勤的可能性和通勤距离，但对就业的可能性或收入几乎没有或没有直接影响。我们认为这些结果与搜索和匹配框架一致；通勤使工人找到更适合自己技能的工作，并与雇主更好地匹配。我们还提供了来自当代资料的描述性证据，来描述通勤通过减少城市拥挤来改善生活质量的影响。每行驶一公里 5%。获得公共交通增加了通勤的可能性和通勤距离，但对就业的可能性或收入几乎没有或没有直接影响。我们认为这些结果与搜索和匹配框架一致；通勤使工人找到更适合自己技能的工作，并与雇主更好地匹配。我们还提供了来自当代资料的描述性证据，来描述通勤通过减少城市拥挤来改善生活质量的影响。每行驶一公里 5%。获得公共交通增加了通勤的可能性和通勤距离，但对就业的可能性或收入几乎没有或没有直接影响。我们认为这些结果与搜索和匹配框架一致；通勤使工人找到更适合自己技能的工作，并与雇主更好地匹配。我们还提供了来自当代资料的描述性证据，来描述通勤通过减少城市拥挤来改善生活质量的影响。我们认为这些结果与搜索和匹配框架一致；通勤使工人找到更适合自己技能的工作，并与雇主更好地匹配。我们还提供了来自当代资料的描述性证据，来描述通勤通过减少城市拥挤来改善生活质量的影响。我们认为这些结果与搜索和匹配框架一致；通勤使工人找到更适合自己技能的工作，并与雇主更好地匹配。我们还提供了来自当代资料的描述性证据，来描述通勤通过减少城市拥挤来改善生活质量的影响。