Breakfast Skipping, Extreme Commutes, and the Sex Composition at Birth

Figures & data

Figure 1. Primary and secondary eating by time of day.

Figure 2. Percent “skipping breakfast” by commute duration.

Figure 3. Percentage male children by socioeconomic characteristics.

Table 1 Summary statistics

2003–2009 American Time Use Survey (ATUS)
	Mean	SD	N
No primary eating 5 a.m.–10 a.m.	67.4%	46.9%	8,233
No primary eating for >16 hours	64.5%	47.8%	8,233
Minutes with no primary eating	1,062.7	292.5	7,785
No primary or secondary eating 5 a.m.–10 a.m.	51.1%	50.0%	2,099
No primary or secondary eating for >16 hours	14.0%	34.7%	2,099
Minutes with no primary or secondary eating	756.1	203.5	2,099
Commute time (min.)	15.9	16.9	8,233
No commute time	19.5%	39.6%	8,233
1–14-min. commute	31.5%	46.4%	8,233
15–29-min. commute	28.1%	45.0%	8,233
30–44-min. commute	13.4%	34.1%	8,233
45–59-min. commute	3.9%	19.3%	8,233
60–74-min. commute	2.6%	15.8%	8,233
75–89-min. commute	0.4%	6.2%	8,233
90+-min. commute	0.7%	8.2%	8,233
Black	13.0%	33.7%	8,233
Hispanic	13.6%	34.3%	8,233
Works part time	21.3%	40.9%	8,233
Number of children	1.33	1.13	8,233
Less than high school completed	7.9%	26.9%	8,233
College graduate	38.4%	48.6%	8,233
1980–2000 Census and 2005–2009 American Community Survey
Male child	51.1%	50.0%	725,032
Commute time (min.)	23.1	19.1	725,032
1–14-min. commute	31.1%	46.3%	725,032
15–29-min. commute	36.2%	48.1%	725,032
30–44-min. commute	19.5%	39.6%	725,032
45–59-min. commute	7.2%	25.8%	725,032
60–74-min. commute	3.9%	19.3%	725,032
75–89-min. commute	0.6%	8.0%	725,032
90+-min. commute	1.5%	12.0%	725,032
Black	10.6%	30.8%	725,032
Hispanic	10.6%	30.8%	725,032
Works part time	25.7%	43.7%	725,032
Total number of children	2.0	1.0	725,032
Less than high school completed	6.9%	25.3%	725,032
College graduate	32.2%	46.7%	725,032
Carpool	16.9%	37.5%	725,032
Public transportation	3.7%	18.8%	725,032
Bike/walk	2.1%	14.4%	725,032
Other transportation	0.4%	6.3%	725,032

Notes: Conditional on having a nonzero commute time, the average commute time in the ATUS sample is 19.8 minutes, and the fraction of the sample in each commuting bin is as follows: 1–14 min., 39.1 percent; 15–29 min., 34.9 percent; 30–44 min., 16.6 percent; 45–59 min., 4.8 percent; 60–74 min., 3.2 percent; 75–89 min., 0.5 percent; and 90 min. or longer, 0.8 percent (9.2%).

Table 2 Effects of long commute times on breakfast skipping, selected coefficients

	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)
90+-min commute	0.218***	0.215***	0.217***	0.210***	0.206***	0.206***	0.213***	0.282***	0.082
	(0.063)	(0.063)	(0.062)	(0.062)	(0.062)	(0.062)	(0.063)	(0.072)	(0.138)
Black		0.096***	0.094***	0.093***	0.093***	0.092***	0.097***	0.065***	0.171***
		(0.016)	(0.016)	(0.016)	(0.016)	(0.016)	(0.017)	(0.020)	(0.033)
Number of children		0.020***	0.018***	0.023***	0.023***	0.022***	0.023***	0.021***	0.024**
		(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.006)	(0.010)
Age 15–17		−0.109**	−0.041	−0.007	−0.003	−0.007	−0.052	−0.155**	0.103
		(0.045)	(0.051)	(0.053)	(0.053)	(0.053)	(0.055)	(0.074)	(0.091)
Age 39–41		−0.055**	−0.053**	−0.063***	−0.063***	−0.064***	−0.050**	−0.064**	0.026
		(0.023)	(0.023)	(0.023)	(0.023)	(0.023)	(0.024)	(0.028)	(0.049)
Age 42–45		−0.098***	−0.096***	−0.107***	−0.108***	−0.109***	−0.100***	−0.113***	−0.054
		(0.022)	(0.022)	(0.022)	(0.022)	(0.022)	(0.023)	(0.027)	(0.047)
Less than high school education			−0.053**	−0.044*	−0.044*	−0.043*	−0.029	0.003	−0.051
			(0.026)	(0.026)	(0.026)	(0.026)	(0.027)	(0.036)	(0.046)
College education or more			−0.038**	−0.057***	−0.056***	−0.055***	−0.060***	−0.072***	−0.047
			(0.017)	(0.018)	(0.018)	(0.018)	(0.020)	(0.023)	(0.040)
Log wage				0.020*	0.018*	0.022**	0.019*	0.017	0.020
				(0.011)	(0.011)	(0.011)	(0.012)	(0.014)	(0.022)
Weekly hours				0.003***	0.003***	0.003***	0.003***	0.002***	0.005***
				(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)
Departs after 9 a.m.					−0.041**	−0.040**	−0.037**	−0.033*	−0.038
					(0.018)	(0.018)	(0.018)	(0.020)	(0.047)
West						−0.041***	−0.046***	−0.051***	−0.031
						(0.016)	(0.016)	(0.019)	(0.032)
Observations	8,233	8,233	8,233	8,233	8,233	8,233	8,233	5,741	2,492
R-squared	0.019	0.033	0.039	0.047	0.048	0.049	0.096	0.100	0.171
Controls
Day of week fixed effects	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Demographic/family variables		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Education			X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Economic status				X	X	X	X	X	X
Departure time					X	X	X	X	X
Geographic						X	X	X	X
Metro area fixed effects							X	X	X
Drivers only								X
Nondrivers only									X

Notes: Standard errors in parentheses. The full list of baseline covariates includes other commuting time bins, day of week fixed effects, demographic and family variables (race, number of children in household under 18, whether there are two parents present in the household, and age bin dummies), educational attainment, economic variables (log wage and hours worked), dummies for departure time bins, dummies for geographic area of the United States, and metropolitan area fixed effects. Column 8 estimates the model with the full set of regressors for drivers only. Column 9 estimates the model with the full set of regressors for nondrivers only.

^*** p < .01, ^**p < .05, *p < .1.

Figure 4. Percentage male children aged 0–2 years old, by mother’s commuting time.

Figure 5. Distribution of propensity score by commute time.

Table 3 Basic OLS, effects of 90+-minute commute on fraction of male births

	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)
90+-min. commute	−0.007	−0.007	−0.007	−0.007	−0.007	−0.007
	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.005)
Number of kids	−0.001	−0.001	−0.001	−0.001	−0.001	−0.001
	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)
Black	−0.004*	−0.004*	−0.004*	−0.004*	−0.004**	−0.004**
	(0.002)	(0.002)	(0.002)	(0.002)	(0.002)	(0.002)
Asian	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000
	(0.003)	(0.003)	(0.003)	(0.003)	(0.003)	(0.003)
Father absent		−0.005	−0.005	−0.005	−0.005	−0.005
		(0.013)	(0.013)	(0.013)	(0.013)	(0.013)
Parents married, father absent		0.005	0.005	0.005	0.005	0.005
		(0.007)	(0.007)	(0.007)	(0.007)	(0.007)
Separated		−0.010**	−0.010**	−0.010**	−0.010**	−0.010**
		(0.004)	(0.004)	(0.004)	(0.004)	(0.004)
Divorced		0.003	0.002	0.003	0.003	0.002
		(0.004)	(0.004)	(0.004)	(0.004)	(0.004)
Widowed		−0.0275**	−0.0275**	−0.0275**	−0.0275**	−0.0274**
		(0.013)	(0.013)	(0.013)	(0.013)	(0.013)
Part-time worker	−0.004**	−0.004**	−0.004**	−0.004**	−0.003**	−0.003**
	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)
Constant	0.519***	0.519***	0.519***	0.519***	0.518***	0.518***
	(0.003)	(0.003)	(0.003)	(0.003)	(0.004)	(0.004)
Observations	729122	729122	729122	729122	729122	729122
R-squared	0.001	0.001	0.001	0.001	0.001	0.001
Controls
Marital status	X	X	X	X	X	X
Additional race		X	X	X	X	X
Home ownership			X	X	X	X
Type of school				X	X	X
Birth order					X	X
Departure time						X

Notes: Standard errors in parentheses. The full list of covariates includes 90+-minute commute time, income bin dummies, number of children, race, part-time employment status, age bin dummies, dummies for years of education and father’s years of education, and indicators for census year. Marital status includes variables for absent father, parents married with absent father, separated, divorced, and widowed. Type of school includes an indicator for private school enrollment. Birth order includes dummies for order of birth within family. Departure time adds dummies for morning departure time bins.

^*** p < .01, ^**p < .05, *p < .1.

Table 4 Inverse probability weighted effect on fraction of male births

	(1)	(2)	(3)
	Full sample	Drivers only	All others
90+-min. commute	−0.012*	−0.019**	0.006
	(0.007)	(0.009)	(0.045)
Observations	725,032	546,999	178,033
R-squared	0.001	0.001	0.004

Notes: Standard errors in parentheses. The full list of covariates includes 90+-minute commute; income bin dummies; number of children; race; absent father; married parents and absent father; parents separated, divorced, or widowed; part-time employee status; home ownership; private school enrollment; birth order dummies; morning departure time; mode of transportation (carpool, public transportation, biking or walking, or other); age and educational attainment; father’s educational attainment; census year dummies; and metropolitan area fixed effects.

**p < .05, *p < .1.

Table A1 Mean characteristics by commute time

	Commute length in minutes
	1–14	15–29	30–44	45–59	60–74	75–89	90+
Works part time	32.3%	25.8%	20.8%	17.4%	17.4%	18.3%	18.5%
Lives in metro area	36.9%	43.0%	46.3%	47.9%	49.5%	51.2%	50.1%
Number of children	2.02	1.94	1.91	1.88	1.92	1.90	1.97
Age	29.3	29.9	30.4	30.7	31.0	31.3	31.0
High school dropout	8.1%	6.9%	5.9%	4.6%	5.6%	3.6%	7.0%
College graduate	28.0%	31.8%	35.8%	38.0%	38.5%	42.1%	33.9%
Black	8.3%	10.7%	11.6%	12.6%	15.8%	12.5%	19.2%
Hispanic	10.1%	10.7%	10.9%	10.3%	12.6%	10.0%	13.2%
Family income	$53,800	$59,549	$65,094	$69,353	$71,880	$79,310	$68,406
Carpool	13.5%	17.1%	19.4%	20.8%	21.3%	19.9%	19.6%
Public transportation	0.7%	1.7%	4.7%	9.0%	19.3%	21.8%	25.7%
Bike/walk	5.0%	1.1%	0.5%	0.3%	0.3%	0.4%	0.6%
Other transportation	0.5%	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%	0.4%	1.3%

Note: Based on census/ACS sample.

Table A2 Effects of long commute times on fast duration of 16 hours, selected coefficients

	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)
90+-min. commute	0.189***	0.188***	0.189***	0.189***	0.197***	0.197***	0.193***	0.261***	0.015
	(0.065)	(0.064)	(0.064)	(0.064)	(0.064)	(0.064)	(0.065)	(0.075)	(0.137)
Black		0.091***	0.087***	0.084***	0.085***	0.084***	0.084***	0.060***	0.142***
		(0.016)	(0.016)	(0.016)	(0.016)	(0.017)	(0.017)	(0.021)	(0.032)
Number of children		0.025***	0.021***	0.025***	0.025***	0.024***	0.023***	0.024***	0.020**
		(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.006)	(0.010)
Age 15–17		−0.050	−0.014	0.023	0.020	0.015	−0.023	−0.053	0.002
		(0.046)	(0.053)	(0.054)	(0.054)	(0.054)	(0.056)	(0.077)	(0.090)
Age 39–41		−0.031	−0.032	−0.038	−0.036	−0.037	−0.031	−0.034	0.009
		(0.024)	(0.024)	(0.024)	(0.024)	(0.024)	(0.024)	(0.029)	(0.049)
Age 42–45		−0.072***	−0.073***	−0.080***	−0.078***	−0.080***	−0.072***	−0.072***	−0.053
		(0.023)	(0.023)	(0.023)	(0.023)	(0.023)	(0.024)	(0.028)	(0.047)
Less than high school education			−0.020	−0.016	−0.016	−0.014	0.009	0.011	0.009
			(0.026)	(0.027)	(0.027)	(0.027)	(0.028)	(0.037)	(0.045)
College education or more			−0.059***	−0.071***	−0.074***	−0.074***	−0.061***	−0.056**	−0.081**
			(0.017)	(0.018)	(0.018)	(0.018)	(0.020)	(0.024)	(0.040)
Log wage				0.016	0.016	0.019*	0.020*	0.006	0.044**
				(0.011)	(0.011)	(0.011)	(0.012)	(0.015)	(0.022)
Weekly hours				0.002***	0.002***	0.002***	0.002**	0.002**	0.002
				(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)
Departs after 9 a.m.					0.009	0.010	0.011	0.026	−0.040
					(0.018)	(0.018)	(0.018)	(0.021)	(0.047)
West						−0.060***	−0.063***	−0.070***	−0.042
						(0.016)	(0.016)	(0.020)	(0.031)
Observations	8,233	8,233	8,233	8,233	8,233	8,233	8,233	5,741	2,492
R-squared	0.008	0.026	0.030	0.035	0.035	0.037	0.091	0.103	0.182
Controls
Day of week fixed effects	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Demographic/family variables		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Education			X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Economic status				X	X	X	X	X	X
Departure time					X	X	X	X	X
Geographic area						X	X	X	X
Metro area fixed effects							X	X	X
Drivers only								X
Nondrivers only									X

Notes: Standard errors in parentheses. The full list of baseline covariates includes all commuting time bins, though they are not displayed in the table. Other included covariates include day of week fixed effects, demographic and family variables (race, number of children in household under 18, whether there are two parents present in the household, and age bin dummies), educational attainment, economic variables (log wage and hours worked), dummies for departure time bins, dummies for geographic area of the United States, and metropolitan area fixed effects. Column 8 estimates the model with the full set of regressors for drivers only. Column 9 estimates the model with the full set of regressors for nondrivers only.

^*** p < .01, ^**p < .05, *p < .1.

Table A3 First-stage logit results for prediction of 90+-minute commute

Variables
Number of children	−0.025**
	(0.011)
Black	0.267***
	(0.032)
Asian	0.127***
	(0.047)
American Indian	−0.045
	(0.120)
Hispanic	−0.166***
	(0.042)
Other race	0.046
	(0.048)
Father absent	0.384*
	(0.223)
Part-time	−0.119***
	(0.027)
Departs before 6 a.m.	0.886***
	(0.034)
Departs 6–7 a.m.	0.567***
	(0.027)
Departs 7–8 a.m.	−0.579***
	(0.036)
Departs after 9 a.m.	−0.348***
	(0.033)
Takes public transit	2.051***
	(0.030)
Bikes or walks	−0.755***
	(0.127)
Takes other transit	1.454***
	(0.090)
Constant	−5.167***
	(0.076)
Pseudo R2	0.118
Observations	725032

Notes: Standard errors in parentheses. The full list of covariates includes income bin dummies, number of children, race, absent father, married parents and absent father, parents separated, parents divorced or widowed, part-time employee status, home ownership, private school enrollment, birth order dummies, morning departure time, mode of transportation (carpool, public transit, biking or walking, or other), age, educational attainment, father’s educational attainment, census year dummies, and metropolitan area fixed effects.

***p < .01, **p < .05, *p < .1.

Table A4 Inverse probability weighted results for alternate commute times on fraction of male births

	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)
	75–90 min.	60–75 min.	45–60 min.	30–45 min.	15–30 min.	0–15 min.
Commute time	−0.007	0.003	0.003	0.001	−0.002	−0.001
	(0.011)	(0.004)	(0.003)	(0.002)	(0.001)	(0.002)
Number of children	0.001	−0.001	0.000	−0.001	0.000	−0.001
	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)	(0.001)
Black	−0.004	−0.006*	−0.006*	−0.006**	−0.001	−0.003
	(0.004)	(0.004)	(0.003)	(0.003)	(0.003)	(0.004)
Asian	−0.001	−0.001	−0.001	0.001	0.003	−0.004
	(0.006)	(0.006)	(0.005)	(0.004)	(0.004)	(0.005)
Father absent	0.009	0.027	0.007	0.007	−0.016	−0.014
	(0.023)	(0.023)	(0.022)	(0.018)	(0.018)	(0.023)
Parents married, father absent	−0.018	−0.003	0.011	0.008	0.005	−0.003
	(0.012)	(0.012)	(0.011)	(0.010)	(0.009)	(0.013)
Separated	−0.021***	−0.012*	−0.009	−0.008	−0.003	0.001
	(0.008)	(0.007)	(0.007)	(0.006)	(0.006)	(0.008)
Divorced	0.004	−0.005	0.003	0.003	0.003	0.004
	(0.007)	(0.006)	(0.006)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.007)
Widowed	−0.027	−0.014	−0.019	−0.013	−0.018	−0.039*
	(0.021)	(0.023)	(0.021)	(0.017)	(0.017)	(0.022)
Part-time worker	−0.002	−0.003	−0.002	−0.002	−0.003	−0.003
	(0.002)	(0.002)	(0.002)	(0.002)	(0.002)	(0.002)
Constant	0.514***	0.522***	0.518***	0.525***	0.514***	0.523***
	(0.006)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.005)	(0.006)
Observations	709,718	724,251	724,982	725,032	725,032	725,032
R-squared	0.001	0.001	0.001	0.001	0.001	0.001

Notes: Robust standard errors in parentheses.

***p < .01, **p < .05, *p < .1.

Figure A1. Educational attainment of women by commute duration.