Residential location, transportation, and welfare-to-work in the United States: a case study of Milwaukee

This article addresses two questions about spatial barriers to welfare-to-work transition in the United States. First, what residential and transportation adjustments do welfare recipients tend to make as they try to become economically self-sufficient? Second, do these adjustments actually increase the probability that they will become employed? Analysis of 1997-2000 panel data on housing location and automobile ownership for Milwaukee welfare recipients reveals two tendencies: (1) to relocate to neighborhoods with less poverty and more racial integration and (2) to obtain a car. Results from binary logit models indicate that residential relocation and car ownership both increase the likelihood that welfare recipients will become employed. These findings suggest that policies should aim to facilitate residential mobility for low-income families and improve their neighborhoods, rather than simply move them closer to job opportunities. The findings also suggest a critical role for transportation policy in reducing unemployment.