Welfare to Work Propensities: Administrative Record Evidence

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2010

Department

Program

Citation of Original Publication

Zhang, T., & Gerlowski, D. (2010). Welfare to Work Propensities: Administrative Record Evidence. In 2018 Annual Meeting (pp. 1-8). Pittsburgh, PA: American Economic Association.

Rights

Abstract

The study examines the role of home-to-new-job-hub distance on employment propensity using a unique dataset compiled from integrated micro-level administrative records of work-eligible welfare recipients and earnings. Our empirical findings confirm the Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis. Our home-to-new-job-hub distance measure is an innovative weighted measure incorporating both abundance of actual employment opportunities and geographic distance. Other unique contributions of this study include using point-to-point residence and job hub locational information, modeling with community controls, and industry specific analysis. This study also identifies policy implications in advancing employment prospects of inner-city residents receiving government assistance.