Work and automobile ownership among welfare recipients

One barrier facing many welfare recipients is their geographic isolation from employment opportunities. Given the sprawling, automobile-oriented, urban structure of most U.S. cities, owning an automobile enables a welfare recipient to conduct a geographically broader job search, to accept offers farther away from home, to improve work attendance, and to keep the commute burden to a reasonable level. Data from a survey of more than 1,000 female heads of household in California receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children reveal that those owning an automobile enjoyed a significant advantage in terms of higher employment rates and total earnings. Given that automobiles are instrumental to better employment, welfare reform should facilitate the ownership of reliable transportation through modifications of eligibility requirements and the creation of support services.