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Does Telecommuting Reduce Commuting Emissions?

Author

Listed:
  • Waldemar Marz
  • Suphi Sen
Abstract
The long-term trend toward more work from home due to digitization has found a strong new driver, the Covid-19 pandemic. The profound change in urban mobility patterns supports the often-held view that reducing the number of commuting trips can lower carbon emissions to a certain degree. We investigate this optimistic view from a long-run perspective in a monocentric urban model with household-level vehicle choice based on fuel efficiency. In the medium run, fewer trips lead to the choice of less fuel-efficient vehicles. In addition, with lower annual driving costs to the city center, households change their location in the long run toward longer commuting trips, but cheaper housing, implying an adjustment in the real-estate market. These changes in vehicle choice and the urban form largely eliminate the initial environmental benefits. Binding fuel economy standards completely prevent the medium-run drop in fuel efficiency, but slightly exacerbate the long-term increase in commuting trip length.

Suggested Citation

  • Waldemar Marz & Suphi Sen, 2021. "Does Telecommuting Reduce Commuting Emissions?," CESifo Working Paper Series 9357, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9357
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    Cited by:

    1. Axenbeck, Janna & Bertschek, Irene & Breithaupt, Patrick & Erdsiek, Daniel, 2023. "Firm digitalisation and mobility - Do Covid-19-related changes persist?," ZEW Discussion Papers 23-011, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. Rémy Le Boennec, 2023. "The impact of working from home arrangements on urban sprawl when the firms pay for the "home office"," Post-Print hal-04092985, HAL.
    3. Lee, Kangoh, 2023. "Working from home as an economic and social change: A review," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    4. Zhang, Bing-bing & Wang, Yuan & Chen, Yue & Zhou, Junting, 2024. "Digital transformation by firms and the cleanliness of China's export products," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    5. Julius Berger & Waldemar Marz, 2024. "Fuel Economy Standards and Public Transport," CESifo Working Paper Series 11061, CESifo.
    6. Rémy Le Boennec, 2023. "The impact of working from home arrangements on urban sprawl when the firms pay for the "home office"," Post-Print hal-04095748, HAL.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    telecommuting; monocentric city; fuel economy; carbon emissions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • L90 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - General
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • R40 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - General

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