COMMUTING DISTANCE AND GENDER AMONG NONMETROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES*

The applicability of metropolitan-derived explanations of gender differences in worktrip lengths is examined based on a sample of 435 university employees in the nonmetropolitan town of Blacksburg, VA. Women's worktrips are found to be longer than men's in contrast to metropolitan findings. This pattern results from the interaction of spatial structures of housing and employment with women's lower incomes, gender segregation of employment, and the tendency for married women to find jobs after their residence is established. Upward trends in female labor force participation rates and in nonmetropolitan growth require continued analysis of their joint impact on women's spatial behavior.     

CONTAINMENT AND MISMATCH: GENDER DIFFERENCES IN COMMUTING IN METROPOLITAN LABOR MARKETS

The spatial containment of women relative to men remains a prominent theme in research on women's employment in American cities. Drawing on a dataset for all metropolitan areas in the United States in 1990, this research analyzes the contextual variability of containment effects and the link between localized commutes and the incidence of occupational sex segregation. Women's more localized commutes persist across most of the urban system, with particularly wide differentials in suburban labor markets in proximity to national service and finance centers. Treatment effects models confirm that differences in the extent of local labor markets among women reinforce occupational sex segregation, but the effect varies by mode of travel. Working close to home slightly increases the likelihood of segregation for women with access to private automobiles, suggestive of spatial containment. Among women reliant on bus transportation, spatial mismatch is so severe that even poorly paid secondary jobs require long commutes.     

BEYOND POSTMODERNISM

By simultaneously controlling for the spatial and social characteristics of neighborhoods, this study sheds new empirical light on the relationship between ethnic-enclave residence and ethnic-niche employment. Considering women's commuting constraints and their theoretically more local social networks, this study explores whether residential segregation may be a more important determinant of labor-market segregation for immigrant women than for men. The study finds that residential segregation plays an important role in sustaining labor-market segregation among immigrants, and that gender emerges as a salient mediating factor. While living in an ethnic enclave tends to be associated with ethnic-niche employment for both men and women, women who live in enclave neighborhoods have a higher rate of ethnic-niche employment than men. However, greater geographic accessibility to niche jobs is associated with niche employment for both immigrant men and women in general, and place-based context seems as important to men as women.     

TRAVEL TO WORK AND LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION OF MEN AND WOMEN IN AN AUSTRALIAN METROPOLITAN AREA

For a number of social and cultural reasons, labor force participation rates of Australian women are low. One reason not previously investigated is the problem of geographic accessibility to employment, especially for suburban women. Results from journey-to-work studies show that females either work locally or in the central-city area, whereas males travel to more dispersed locations. Further investigation of female travel patterns from each of fifty-five suburban local government areas shows that the socioeconomic status of an area, together with its job mix, explains much variety in female work travel and suggests that workforce participation rates depend in part on local job availability. The research contributes to an understanding of the nature of occupational and geographical disaggregation of the Melbourne metropolitan labor market.     

Local Labor Market Restructuring and the Employment of Welfare Recipients in Los Angeles County

Although welfare rolls have dropped considerably in recent years, most welfare recipients who find work are employed in low-wage, insecure jobs. The problem of "working poverty" is especially acute in large city-regions such as Los Angeles, where local labor market restructuring has created an expanding, low-wage economy, increasingly dependent on immigrant labor. This paper analyzes the employment outcomes of 6,931 women who completed the county's welfare-to-work program in 1996. I evaluate their earnings, labor market segmentation, and job stability. The results show that women were highly concentrated in low-wage service jobs and experienced high levels of turnover and unemployment. Many were unable to obtain employment in the formal labor market. I argue that the struggles of the working poor in a growing regional economy are explained not solely by human capital limitations, but by processes of local labor market restructuring that have contributed to widespread economic insecurity in Los Angeles County.     

A Review of “Rebuilding Urban Places After Disaster: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina”

Women's earnings, employment, and commutes have generally lagged men's. Geographers emphasize the effects of women's gender roles on their spatial entrapment as limiting their job opportunities and labor market status. This research methodologically advances spatial entrapment research by utilizing a national model of commuting with spatial fixed effects to make more accurate predictions and generalizations. Second, this research found that a control group of same-sex partners allows for more direct isolation and measurement of the gender role effect on women's commutes. This research concluded that women's gender roles are negatively affecting their commuting range and, therefore, their labor market status.     

Race,Gender, and Spatial Segmentation in the Twin Cities*

This study analyzes commuting trends in a relatively vibrant setting during the 1980s to determine (a) how labor market segmentation correlates with differences in the spatial dimensions of local labor markets, and (b) whether this link represents a direct spatial effect, independent of earnings, travel mode, and part-time work. I use 1980 and 1990 PUMS data to analyze changes in racial and gender divisions in the workforce, and I develop an estimate of work trip distance to adjust for different travel modes. For all groups except white men, employment in a job “typical” of one's gender and racial group is associated with more localized commutes, but this effect is strongly mediated by variations in earnings and part-time work. Using a covariance structure model to control for these effects, I find no independent link between segmentation and longer commutes among African Americans. Earnings and commute distances remained unchanged over the decade for African Americans, providing no evidence of a purely spatial mismatch manifest in lengthening work trips without corresponding wage gains. The spatial dimensions of an employment mismatch for inner-city minorities are concealed through the replacement of production jobs by poorly paid service work in the expanding downtown economy of a vibrant regional center.     

Spatial concentration patterns of South Asian low-skilled immigrants in Oman: A spatial analysis of residential geographies

Oman is a major recipient of South Asian labor immigrants, and correspondingly, the demographic statistics reveal that the non-Omani populations primarily are constituted of the Asians. This research examines whether the largest immigrant groups (Indian, Bangladesh, Pakistani and Sri Lankan) in Oman form residential clusters according to their work skills (higher and lower skills). The residential geographies of South Asian workers at the subnational administrative boundaries have been investigated in the current study. Empirically, the study employs the use of Location Quotients (LQ) and Entropy Index within the GIS environment to spatially analyze the immigrant residential distributions based on their work skills. Interestingly, the findings of this research confirm the primary influence of geography on the residential patterns of the low-skilled immigrants. Initially, Al-Batnah governorates constituted the main destinations of low-skilled Bangladeshis. Further, the research also highlights significant clusters of Indian and Pakistani high-skilled immigrants in urban residential communities within the Muscat governorate. In addition, the South Asian are found to be a relatively constant stream of immigrants to inhabit the Omani urban areas, with employments in various public and private economic sectors (e.g. educational, health, manufacturing, finance, business etc.). This concentration pattern of low skilled immigrants is attributable to the need to labor shortages of native populations in certain jobs. The research results also indicate that the rural and suburban communities of Al-Batnah coastal plain not only have a greater number of low skilled immigrants but also display equitable distributions of the four South Asian groups in the residential settlements. For policy makers, it is imperative to understand the spatial patterns of low and high-skilled immigrants in Oman, which exert several geographic, economic, social and demographic implications. The significant role of immigration in development necessitates the identification of the predominant destinations for immigrants. It has been observed that the immigrants are crucial to several sectors of Omani urban economy, and urban areas with a large number of immigrants are more likely to grow and expand faster. In addition, the immigrants’ laborers offer potential economic benefits to the host country, which include fostering entrepreneurial activities, small businesses and reducing wages, especially in unskilled jobs. Despite the negative impacts of immigration (e.g. losing national cultural and creating socio-spatial segregation), the diverse and distinctive locational patterns of immigrant groups in Oman contribute crucially to the socioeconomic development and immigration policy. Yet understanding of the spatial dynamics of immigration in structuring the Omani regions and its influences remains very limited. Thus, further research accounting for the different spatial and attribute ancillary data is necessitated.     

中国省域犯罪率影响因素的空间非平稳性分析

收入差距和流动人口是影响犯罪率的两个重要因素, 以往研究基于OLS模型, 在假设地域空间为均质的前提下分析其对犯罪率的影响, 但现实世界的空间单元往往难以满足“均质”的假设, 多数表现为“空间异质”。以OLS计量空间异质会造成计量结果出现偏差, 同时无法了解不同空间单元的不同影响。而地理加权回归模型通过将空间结构嵌入线性回归模型中, 很好的解决了空间异质的计量问题。利用地理加权回归模型研究2008 年中国大陆省域单元犯罪率的影响因素, 结果表明:① 犯罪率的影响因素表现出空间非平稳性, 流动人口与犯罪率显著相关, 但各个省份相关程度并不相同, 影响关系随空间位置变化而变化;② 地理加权回归模型的计量精度和拟合度比OLS模型有大幅提高     

中国城市化与非农就业增长的空间格局及关系类型

城市化与就业是中国目前经济社会发展中的热点问题,充分认识城市化与就业之间相互作用关系对于指导中国城市化与就业健康有序发展具有现实意义。在梳理中国城市人口与就业统计口径变更的基础上,选用第五、第六次人口普查及相关统计年鉴数据,利用莫兰指数和地理加权回归探讨中国地级行政单元尺度城市化与非农就业增长的空间特征及相互关系。研究表明：① 2000-2010 年间中国城市化与非农就业均呈现出快速增长的趋势,绝对增长均表现为大城市主导,相对增长则表现出向中心城市周边扩散的趋势;② 莫兰指数揭示出中国2000-2010 年间城市化与非农就业增长空间分布呈现出极化趋势,且两者空间分布格局类似;③ 通过对地理加权模型回归系数划分得到各区域城市化与非农就业增长的关系类型,全国大部分地区城市化与非农就业呈现出协调发展的趋势,城市化滞后区域主要有青海、甘肃中东部及四川盆地中部,重庆、新疆以及部分省会城市出现了一定程度的城市化超前。据此提出,各地区应根据自身实际情况,制订差异化的城市化发展战略。     

Using longitudinal employer dynamics (LED) data for the analysis of Memphis Aerotropolis,Tennessee

We used Longitudinal Employer Dynamics (LED) data for the analysis of the local workforce and job markets in Shelby County, Tennessee, which includes the city of Memphis. Memphis has earned the unique reputation in the US as America's Aerotropolis. However, the model has not yet received full attention by the urban geography community. This study analyzes the Memphis Aerotropolis (MA) defined as an economic hub extending outward from the Memphis International Airport into a surrounding area that specializes in transportation and warehousing. Our findings reveal polycentric pattern of employment which we grouped into centers, subcenters, and clusters. To understand industrial specialization of job areas, we used location quotient analysis. The area around the airport is consistent with the “Aerotropolis” concept, and attracts both jobs (it is the largest job concentration in the region) and housing. The area also has a greater share of higher-paying jobs, however female and minority workers benefit less than white male workers. This study contributes to the body of research on the spatial aspects of racial, gender, and paying/earning characteristics of both jobs and workers of a current-day metropolis. Availability of the LED data enables easy replication of the analysis of the local job and labor structure elsewhere within the United States.     

THE URBAN LABOR MARKET IN MEXICO: GLOBAL CHANGE,INFORMALITY, AND SOCIAL POLARIZATION

In this study I argue that Mexico's integration into the global economy has increased the dependent nature of its capitalist development and has resulted in the weakening of organized labor and growth of the informal sector. Neoliberal policies in Mexico have accentuated the disparities between the formal and informal sectors and between highly paid skilled workers and those working in unskilled and poorly paid occupations. New forms of geographic dispersion and agglomeration of economic activities contribute to the reproduction of differentiated labor markets in various regions and cities. This is particularly true in those areas most affected by the global economy, such as the major metropolitan areas and the northern regions of the country.

The main changes in the urban labor market associated with economic restructuring in Mexico during the 1980s are analyzed. The paper makes three main points: (1) the ability of the formal sector and especially industry to absorb labor has declined, and there is a clear trend toward a tertiarization of the economy; (2) the informal sector has experienced rapid growth, particularly in small firms and other less productive economic activities; and (3) the occupational structure displays more marginal employment and signs of polarization between the proportions of jobs with the highest and lowest levels of skill.     

Linking Home to Work: Ethnic Labor Market Concentration in the San Francisco Consolidated Metropolitan Area

Different perspectives have been offered to explain ethnic labor market concentrations. In most studies, however, residential places are seldom included in the research framework. Using data from 5% Public Used Microdata Samples in 2000, this case study of the San Francisco Bay Area reveals that the robust growth of the new economy is dramatically segmenting the geography of employment and thereby the spatial division of labor in each ethnic group. Living arrangements, such as central-city residence and living in coethnic-concentrated-PUMAs, increase the chances of niche employment for most racial/ethnic groups, even after controlling for human capital and certain local context factors. However, there is a "substitution" effect between personal socioeconomic status and location factors. This study argues that living arrangements can provide a mechanism through which personal characteristics, social networking, and ethnic recourses interact with macroeconomic trends, and thus carve out local labor market experiences across the urban space.     

THE METROPOLITAN STRUCTURE OF SOUTHERN METROPOLITAN AREAS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

This paper systematically analyzes alterations in the employment patterns in 11 different sectors for 1970, 1980, and 1990 for three native-born ethnic groups and four foreign-born subpopulations in New York City. We explicitly contrast two methods of employment-change analysis to unpack the complex urban labor-market process of sectorspecific job succession. Our account builds on Roger Waldinger's recent analysis of shifts in the ethnic division of labor in New York City in the 1970s that used an innovative method of employment change decomposition. Waldinger tested the hypothesis that the upward and outward social movement of native-born whites in the city in this decade created a variegated chain of vacancies that other native-born and immigrant groups differentially filled. This paper expands his analysis to a broader set of ethnicities and explores the extent to which the system of job change altered between the 1970s and 1980s. In doing this, we show how Waldinger's method relates to shift-share analysis—the well-known method of regional employment change analysis. We find support for the theory that a key force behind the recent profound changes in New York's labor market was the redistribution and exit of whites from New York's labor force in the 1970s. In advancing the analysis to understand employment change in the 1980s by ethnic group, we reveal that the role of native whites changed. The native-white exodus from jobs in the city continued but masked sectoral differences in comparative advantage by ethnic category. Immigrant blacks and Hispanics gained jobs in every sector of the economy in the 1970s and in every sector but manufacturing in the 1980s. Immigrant Asians gained jobs in every sector including manufacturing in both decades. Total native-Hispanic employment also increased, but shifted significantly out of manufacturing to advanced services and the public sector in the 1980s. In the 1980s, African Americans lost the competitive advantage they held in the 1970s, largely as a result of significant change in the public sector. FIRE and transportation were the only sectors in which native blacks held labor-market comparative advantage by 1990.     

Coverage inequality and quality of volunteered geographic features in Chinese cities: Analyzing the associated local characteristics using geographically weighted regression

The volunteered geographic information (VGI) gains increasing popularity with the general public and scientific community. However, the optimism about the VGI has been tempered by two critical issues: inequality in data coverage (social justice) and data quality. It therefore requires a better understanding of the mechanism driving VGI contributions and content quality. With a case of China, this paper demonstrates one potential avenue, examining the associations between VGI coverage/quality and local demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. In particular, VGI data are harvested from the OpenStreetMap for 333 cities in China. VGI coverage is measured by the total volume of different geographic features (point, line and polygon); and VGI quality is described from two aspects: completeness and accuracy. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) shows that both demographic and socioeconomic factors have statistically significant influences on VGI coverage and quality. More specifically, densely populous cities with more young, educated and non-agricultural people enjoy higher VGI coverage and quality. Cities with lower VGI coverage and quality are primarily located in the western and southwestern regions where the ethnic minorities concentrate. High VGI coverage and quality are possibly observed in economically developed cities with high marketization degree. Besides, possibility of high VGI coverage and quality occurs in cities with more labor in scientific research and greater percentage of employers in the tertiary industry. The GWR also demonstrates that the strength and nature of the obtained relationships vary across the 333 cities. The spatial non-stationary relationships may partially answer for the controversial empirical conclusions in earlier case studies at different scales. Quantitative analysis (Gini index, Lorenz curve and Moran's I index) further evidences the great inequality in VGI coverage and quality. It can be safely inferred that the differences in engagement and use of VGI, as a new digital divide, can raise troubling concerns on the social justice implications.     

基于空间扩展模型和地理加权回归模型的城市住房价格空间分异比较

鉴于已有研究主要集中探讨住房价格的空间依赖性,较少涉及空间异质性对住房特征价格的影响,也很少尝试构建不同计量模型来比较模型间刻画住房价格影响因素空间分异的准确性,以长沙市中心城区为研究区,采用空间扩展模型和地理加权回归模型比较分析城市住房价格影响因素的空间分异,结果表明：① 空间扩展模型和地理加权回归模型都表明,长沙市中心城区的住房属性边际价格随着区位的变化而变化,揭示住房价格影响因素具有显著的空间异质性;小区环境、交通条件、教育配套、生活设施等因素对住房价格的影响强度存在明显的空间分异。② 地理加权回归模型和空间扩展模型都能对传统特征价格模型进行改进,但地理加权回归模型在解释能力和精度方面都超过空间扩展模型;对属性系数估计空间模式的分析,地理加权回归模型形成的结果比采用坐标多义扩展的空间扩展模型更为复杂和直观。     

劳动市场中介对上海外来女性劳动力就业的影响

在中国的城市化进程中,女性如男性一样大量地流向经济发达城市寻求就业。在劳动力资源配置的市场化改革中,劳动中介已广泛地存在于城市的劳动力市场上,影响着劳动者的就业和劳动力市场的运行状况。因此,考察和明确城市劳动中介机构对外来女性劳动者就业的影响,无论对提高其劳动市场产出还是对政府制定有针对性的就业服务政策都是十分必要的。本文在描述上海劳动市场中介机构现状的基础上,利用2006年对外来人口的调查数据,分析了上海外来女性劳动者的劳动中介使用特征以及中介使用对其工资水平、工作条件等就业质量的影响。结果显示,外来女性对本地中介机构的使用频率比较低,而且本地中介机构的使用会降低她们的劳动市场产出;原因可能在于正规就业服务的不足和大量不良劳动中介机构的存在。     

Employment Trends in Geography,Part 2: Current Demand Conditions*

This paper, the second in a series dealing with employment trends in geography, focuses on current labor market conditions. Two windows on the current labor market are (1) the employment experiences of recent graduates of geography programs and (2) the activities of the Association of American Geographers Convention Placement Services (CoPS). The former provides a perspective primarily on the nonacademic labor market in geography and includes bachelor's, master's, and doctoral recipients of geography degrees. The latter covers both academic and nonacademic jobs but focuses on geographers who hold advanced degrees.     

NEGOTIATING DUALISMS: WOMEN, LOCALITY AND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN OAXACA CITY, MEXICO

This paper examines the validity of the public/private and reproductive/productive dichotomies commonly adopted in the analysis of gender and employment. It considers three aspects of the dualisms: spatial division, activity patterns and the construction of identities. The discussion is based on fieldwork undertaken in three districts of Oaxaca City, Mexico, between 1992 and 1995. While recognising the usefulness of spatial dualisms within Mexican cities, the paper seeks to identify the ways in which class and location within the urban space affect the construction of the boundary between “public” and “private”, women's “employment” experiences, and women's identities.