The effects of vehicle ownership on employment

Vehicle ownership may promote work if employment opportunities and job searches are enhanced by reliable transportation. For example, vehicles may serve to reduce potential physical isolation from employment opportunities. I examine the effects of vehicle ownership and vehicle quality on employment for single mothers with no more than a high school education using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data. I control for potential bias by jointly estimating employment and vehicle ownership in a maximum likelihood framework using state welfare eligibility asset rules as instruments. Results show that vehicle ownership increases employment. Positive effects of vehicles do not differ for urban and rural residents, but they do change with economic conditions. Further, welfare recipients are significantly more likely to exit the program and become employed if they own a vehicle.