Economic models of telecommuting

The objective of the dissertation is to build economic models which are able to predict the effects of flexible work arrangements, such as telecommuting, on urban spatial structure. In the dissertation we consider two distinct types of telecommuting: full-time telecommuting and partial (part-time) telecommuting.;Full-time telecommuting is treated in a fully closed general equilibrium model of an urban area in which all jobs are located in the downtown. The labor and land prices are endogenous, and land is allocated to production, housing, and roads. The difference for the society between telecommuters and on-site workers is that the latter contribute to the city's agglomeration economics, but cause traffic congestion, while the former do not increase congestion but cannot boost agglomeration either. The major results suggest that widespread adoption of telecommuting is likely to increase the welfare level of the city residents. But in the long run, the total population of an urban area, the physical city size and the average transport costs of the city commuters would also rise.;Another chapter deals with the socially optimal allocation for the same city. We obtain the solution of the social planner's problem and show that the difference between equilibrium and optimal allocations is based on the presence of different types of externalities: agglomeration economics and the congestion externality. We find the first-best policy mix and consider second-best alternatives. It is demonstrated that such policies as levying "optimal tolls" and subsidizing telecommuters are ineffective.;One more chapter develops a partial equilibrium spatial model with partial telecommuting, where the proportion of remote work in the total working time is a choice variable of the laborer and varies endogenously with the location of a worker's residence. We prove the existence and uniqueness of an urban equilibrium and perform comparative statics analysis. While some of the comparative statics results are fairly conventional, there are surprising ones as well. In particular, we show that when some residents choose to telecommute, an increase in unit commuting cost can lead to urban sprawl and an increase in the residents' incomes might bring about a contraction of the city's size.