Generation Uphill: Housing Cost, Migration, and Commuting Time of the Young in South Korea

This study investigates how an increase in housing cost during a major real estate boom affected migration decisions of workers in South Korean cities. We also examine how geographic relocation driven by increased housing price changed the commuting time and distance of migrants. We used 10% samples...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSeoul journal of economics Vol. 35; no. 1; pp. 1 - 31
Main Authors Lee, Chulhee, Kang, Elliot
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Seoul Institute of Economic Research 01.01.2022
경제연구소
Subjects
Affordable housing
Censuses
Cities
Commuting
Fertility
Forced migration
Housing costs
Housing prices
Human capital
Marriage
Metropolitan areas
Migrants
Migration
Moving & housing expenses
Price increases
Real estate
Relocation
Socioeconomic factors
Unemployment
Workers
Workplaces
Younger workers
경제학
South Korea
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Summary:This study investigates how an increase in housing cost during a major real estate boom affected migration decisions of workers in South Korean cities. We also examine how geographic relocation driven by increased housing price changed the commuting time and distance of migrants. We used 10% samples of micro censuses and found that increases in housing costs in a district are positively associated with the probability of migration out of the district. The effect of increased housing price is significantly larger for the young than for those aged 40 years and above. We also found that migrations driven by increased housing expenses increased commuting time and distance, particularly for young movers. Our results suggest that "forced migrations" driven by housing booms can intensify mismatch between workers (places with affordable housing) and jobs (workplace).
ISSN:1225-0279
DOI:10.22904/sje.2022.35.1.001