Jonathan Hall
Research Papers
Labor Market Equilibration: Evidence from Uber
J. Hall, J. Horton, D. Knoepfle
Fare changes have two competing effects on driver earnings: a fare increase will raise earnings per trip, but in equilibrium, fare increases negatively affect utilization (the share of a driver’s online hours spent on a trip) through both the demand for rides and the supply of driver hours. Using a panel of fare changes in the United States, the authors find that hourly earnings immediately move in the direction of the fare change for the short term, but offsetting changes in utilization cause hourly earnings to return to near their original level within about eight weeks. [...] [PDF]
2019
Fare changes have two competing effects on driver earnings: a fare increase will raise earnings per trip, but in equilibrium, fare increases negatively affect utilization (the share of a driver’s online hours spent on a trip) through both the demand for rides and the supply of driver hours. Using a panel of fare changes in the United States, the authors find that hourly earnings immediately move in the direction of the fare change for the short term, but offsetting changes in utilization cause hourly earnings to return to near their original level within about eight weeks. [...] [PDF]
2019
The Gender Earnings Gap in the Gig Economy: Evidence from over a Million Rideshare...
C. Cook, R. Diamond, J. Hall, J. A. List, P. Oyer
Flexible work through apps like Uber has some features that should narrow the gender pay gap: there are no convex returns to long hours and earnings are determined by a gender-blind formula without negotiation. However, this paper documents an average hourly earnings gap of 7 percent between male and female Uber drivers in the US. [...] [PDF]
2019
Flexible work through apps like Uber has some features that should narrow the gender pay gap: there are no convex returns to long hours and earnings are determined by a gender-blind formula without negotiation. However, this paper documents an average hourly earnings gap of 7 percent between male and female Uber drivers in the US. [...] [PDF]
2019
Uber vs Taxi: A Driver’s Eye View
J. Angrist, S. Caldwell, J. Hall
Fare changes have two competing effects on driver earnings: a fare increase will raise earnings per trip, but in equilibrium, fare increases negatively affect utilization (the share of a driver’s online hours spent on a trip) through both the demand for rides and the supply of driver hours. Using a panel of fare changes in the United States, the authors find that hourly earnings immediately move in the direction of the fare change for the short term, but offsetting changes in utilization cause hourly earnings to return to near their original level within about eight weeks. [...] [PDF]
2017
Fare changes have two competing effects on driver earnings: a fare increase will raise earnings per trip, but in equilibrium, fare increases negatively affect utilization (the share of a driver’s online hours spent on a trip) through both the demand for rides and the supply of driver hours. Using a panel of fare changes in the United States, the authors find that hourly earnings immediately move in the direction of the fare change for the short term, but offsetting changes in utilization cause hourly earnings to return to near their original level within about eight weeks. [...] [PDF]
2017
An Analysis of the Labor Market for Uber’s Driver-Partners in the United States
J. Hall, A. Krueger
This paper combines a survey of Uber driver-partners with an analysis of Uber administrative data to provide a better understanding of this rapidly-growing group in the United States. Uber driver-partners are younger, more female, and more likely to have a college degree than taxi drivers and chauffeurs. [...] [PDF]
2016
This paper combines a survey of Uber driver-partners with an analysis of Uber administrative data to provide a better understanding of this rapidly-growing group in the United States. Uber driver-partners are younger, more female, and more likely to have a college degree than taxi drivers and chauffeurs. [...] [PDF]
2016
Using Big Data to Estimate Consumer Surplus: The Case of Uber
P. Cohen, R. Hahn, J. Hall, S. Levitt, R. Metcalfe
How much more do Uber’s riders value the trips they take relative to the amount they pay? These authors trace out the demand curve for Uber trips by estimating elasticities, or changes in quantity demanded with respect to price, at various surge levels. In general, this is hard to do because equilibrium prices are correlated with demand. In this case, the authors take advantage of the fact that a continuous measure of suggested surge pricing is rounded before being presented to consumers. [...] [PDF]
2016
How much more do Uber’s riders value the trips they take relative to the amount they pay? These authors trace out the demand curve for Uber trips by estimating elasticities, or changes in quantity demanded with respect to price, at various surge levels. In general, this is hard to do because equilibrium prices are correlated with demand. In this case, the authors take advantage of the fact that a continuous measure of suggested surge pricing is rounded before being presented to consumers. [...] [PDF]
2016
The Effects of Uber’s Surge Pricing: A Case Study
J. Hall, C. Kendrick, C. Nosko
A sold-out concert in Madison Square Garden provides an illustration of the power of surge to equilibrate supply of and demand for rides with Uber. Surge pricing draws more drivers into the area after the concert ends, and causes riders to sort into requesting a ride (or closing the app without requesting a ride) according to their willingness to pay relative to taking an alternative form of transportation. [...] [PDF]
2015
A sold-out concert in Madison Square Garden provides an illustration of the power of surge to equilibrate supply of and demand for rides with Uber. Surge pricing draws more drivers into the area after the concert ends, and causes riders to sort into requesting a ride (or closing the app without requesting a ride) according to their willingness to pay relative to taking an alternative form of transportation. [...] [PDF]
2015