Title

Job access, employment and earnings: outcomes for welfare leavers in a US urban labour market

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2008

Subject Area

Location - USA, Population - Single parents, Social Issues - Joblessness, Social Issues - Low Income, Transport accessibility - Lack of access

Abstract

This article examines the effect of job access on employment outcomes for welfare recipients in Cleveland, Ohio, leaving assistance during 1998—2000. A rich longitudinal dataset is employed, combining administrative and survey data with multiple measures of access to and competition for jobs. The focus is on both a population and a range of measures of employment outcomes not previously studied in this context. Empirical ambiguity in the existing literature has resulted from the difficulty of modelling causality when employment and residential location are jointly determined. In this study, labour market outcomes are related to the residential locations of welfare leavers prior to employment, thus overcoming much potential endogeneity. Virtually no evidence is found that job access influences labour market outcomes for this population.