Economics ETDs

Publication Date

Fall 12-15-2020

Abstract

Many barriers to employment and healthcare access in the United States exist. Barriers to employment include lack of education, homelessness, or a criminal background. Barriers to healthcare include lack of insurance, lack of medical knowledge, and the inability to pay for service. This dissertation examines the role of transportation access and if transportation access is a burden for employment and healthcare access in the Southwest United States. This dissertation also examines if those differences are different based on gender, race, and ethnicity. The 2017 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) serves as the data source for this dissertation.

Chapter 1 gives an overview of the dissertation. Chapter 2 examines whether vehicle access in the household or other determinants affect the likelihood if individual is employed, works full or part-time, or works a single job or multiple jobs.

Chapter 3 uses the concept of travel burden from healthcare economics to investigate travel burden in the context of commutes to work. Chapter 4 examines the idea of travel burden to healthcare visits within the context of the Southwest United States. Chapter 5 gives brief summaries of each of the chapters, and offers brief policy recommendations.

Degree Name

Economics

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Department of Economics

First Committee Member (Chair)

Richard Santos

Second Committee Member

David van der Goes

Third Committee Member

Alok Bohara

Fourth Committee Member

Eliseo Torres

Language

English

Keywords

race, gender, ethnicity, transportation access

Document Type

Thesis

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