Changes in intra-city employment patterns: a spatial analysis
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate area-level labour market dynamics from a spatial perspective. This analysis is aimed at better understanding what socio-economic actors are associated with shifts in unemployment rates across a major metropolitan city.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on two waves of New Zealand census data, this paper combines a seemingly unrelated regression approach (allowing for relaxation of the assumption that residuals from models of different employment states are unrelated) with a spatial lag model.
Findings
The key socio-economic drivers associated with intra-city employment dynamics were vehicle access, dependency rates and educational attainment. Importantly, the identification of spatial autocorrelation with respect to employment status patterns within this major New Zealand city motivates a case for heterogeneous employment policies across the city.
Originality/value
This research improves the understanding of changes in labour market status rates within a city region. This is done by inclusion of two important considerations: a spatial perspective to labour market dynamics at an intra-city level; and formally modelling the interdependence across the four potential labour market outcomes (being full-time, part-time, unemployed or out of the labour force). Overall, there was clear empirical support for the need to include spatial considerations when using targeted policy to help lift areas out of unemployment.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Statistics NZ for the provision of the data used in this study, which were given under conditions designed to give effect to the security and confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act 1975. The analysis in the paper reflects the authors’ views and not those of Statistics New Zealand.
Citation
Webber, D. and Pacheco, G. (2016), "Changes in intra-city employment patterns: a spatial analysis", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 43 No. 3, pp. 263-283. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-02-2014-0027
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited