Determinants of cross‐border commuting: Do cross‐border commuters within the household matter?

Abstract

Cross‐Border commuting is an important form of spatial labor mobility. It is influenced by socio‐economic characteristics and personal attitudes, as well as, by the institutional framework shaped by the labor market, social insurance, and tax laws of the jurisdictions involved. In this paper we analyze the determinants of cross‐border commuting, focusing on the question, whether the existence of cross‐border commuters within the household changes the probability for cross‐border commuting for other household members. The empirical analysis is based on face‐to‐face interviews with employees in the Austrian Land of Vorarlberg, a region with a strong cross‐border commuting tradition especially to Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The sole existence of cross‐border commuters does not change the probability to be a cross‐border commuter. However, we find a significant effect if we interact the existence of cross‐border commuters with the presence of children in the household. Besides this, we present evidence on the role of other socio‐economic and personal characteristics on the cross‐border commuting decision.