Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Researchers and policy makers have studied the effectiveness and welfare consequences of regional development policies that focus on job creation, however they have largely ignored the role of gender in their analysis. Since gender segregation into industries and occupations exists, this can mean that policy designed to increase labor demand may disproportionately favor men or women depending on which industries are most affected. This research examines how gender-specific local labor demand shocks affect employment, rents, and wages in the United States using a spatial equilibrium model. The model implies that male employment shocks lead to larger increases in population, rents, and the gender wage gap due to gender segmented labor markets, increased labor force participation costs for women, and tied migration. Using the 1980-2000 US Census and 2010 ACS, I construct a sample of 722 time-consistent commuting zones to empirically test the predictions of the model. I find that positive male and female labor demand shocks differentially affect population, wages, housing values, and rental prices. This has important consequences for policy makers when considering programs designed around job creation to improve economic conditions.