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Job Access, Employment and Earnings: Outcomes for Welfare Leavers in a US Urban Labour Market

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  • Neil Bania

    (Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management, University of Oregon, 1209 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, 97403-1209, USA, bania@uoregon.edu)

  • Laura Leete

    (Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management, University of Oregon, 1209 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, 97403-1209, USA, leete@uoregon.edu)

  • Claudia Coulton

    (Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, OH 44106-7164, USA, claudia.coulton@case.edu)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Neil Bania & Laura Leete & Claudia Coulton, 2008. "Job Access, Employment and Earnings: Outcomes for Welfare Leavers in a US Urban Labour Market," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 45(11), pages 2179-2202, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:45:y:2008:i:11:p:2179-2202
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098008095864
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Xueming (Jimmy) Chen, 2018. "Review of the Transit Accessibility Concept: A Case Study of Richmond, Virginia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-19, December.
    2. Mathieu Bunel & Elisabeth Tovar, 2014. "Key Issues in Local Job Accessibility Measurement: Different Models Mean Different Results," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(6), pages 1322-1338, May.
    3. van Heerden, Quintin & Karsten, Carike & Holloway, Jenny & Petzer, Engela & Burger, Paul & Mans, Gerbrand, 2022. "Accessibility, affordability, and equity in long-term spatial planning: Perspectives from a developing country," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 104-119.
    4. Jangik Jin & Kurt Paulsen, 2018. "Does accessibility matter? Understanding the effect of job accessibility on labour market outcomes," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(1), pages 91-115, January.
    5. Matthieu Bunel & Elisabeth Tovar, 2012. "Local Job Accessibility Measurement: When the Model Makes the Results. Methodological Contribution and Empirical Benchmarking on the Paris Region," EconomiX Working Papers 2012-22, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    6. Jen-Jia Lin & Chi-Hau Chen & Tsung-Yu Hsieh, 2016. "Job accessibility and ethnic minority employment in urban and rural areas in Taiwan," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(2), pages 363-382, June.
    7. Dagney Faulk & Michael J Hicks, 2016. "The impact of bus transit on employee turnover: Evidence from quasi-experimental samples," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(9), pages 1836-1852, July.
    8. Matthieu Bunel & Élisabeth Tovar, 2012. "Local Job Accessibility Measurement: When the Model Makes the Results. Methodological Contribution and Empirical Benchmarking on the Paris Region," Working Papers hal-04141074, HAL.
    9. Lingqian Hu, 2017. "Job accessibility and employment outcomes: which income groups benefit the most?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 44(6), pages 1421-1443, November.
    10. Lin, Jen-Jia & Cheng, Yu-Chun, 2016. "Access to jobs and apartment rents," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 121-128.
    11. Martín-Barroso, David & Núñez-Serrano, Juan A. & Velázquez, Francisco J., 2017. "Firm heterogeneity and the accessibility of manufacturing firms to labour markets," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 243-256.
    12. Fan, Yingling & Guthrie, Andrew E & Levinson, David M, 2012. "Impact of light rail implementation on labor market accessibility: A transportation equity perspective," The Journal of Transport and Land Use, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, vol. 5(3), pages 28-39.
    13. Hyunjoo Eom, 2022. "Does Job Accessibility Matter in the Suburbs? Black Suburbia, Job Accessibility, and Employment Outcomes," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-21, November.
    14. Allen, Jeff & Farber, Steven, 2019. "Sizing up transport poverty: A national scale accounting of low-income households suffering from inaccessibility in Canada, and what to do about it," SocArXiv ua2gj, Center for Open Science.
    15. Thakuriah (Vonu), Piyushimita & Persky, Joseph & Soot, Siim & Sriraj, P.S., 2013. "Costs and benefits of employment transportation for low-wage workers: An assessment of job access public transportation services," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 31-42.
    16. Haney, Timothy, 2012. "Off to Market: Neighborhood and Individual Employment Barriers for Women in 21st Century American Cities," SocArXiv 57e4a, Center for Open Science.
    17. Allen, Jeff & Farber, Steven, 2019. "Sizing up transport poverty: A national scale accounting of low-income households suffering from inaccessibility in Canada, and what to do about it," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 214-223.
    18. Sha, Feng & Li, Bingyu & Guo, Yingqi & Law, Yik Wa & Yip, Paul S.F. & Zhang, Yi, 2020. "Effects of the Transport Support Scheme on employment and commuting patterns among public rental housing residents in Hong Kong," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 10-18.
    19. Merlin, Louis A. & Hu, Lingqian, 2017. "Does competition matter in measures of job accessibility? Explaining employment in Los Angeles," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 77-88.

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