Consumption Access and the Spatial Concentration of Economic Activity: Evidence from Smartphone Data

Abstract

Using smartphone data for Japan, we show that non-commuting trips are frequent, more localized than commuting trips, strongly related to the availability of nontraded services, and occur along trip chains. Guided by these empirical findings, we develop a quantitative urban model that incorporates travel to work and travel to consume non-traded services. We use the gravity equation predictions of the model to estimate theoretically-consistent measures of travel access. We show that consumption access makes a substantial contribution to the observed variation in residents and land prices and the observed impact of the opening of a new subway line. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.