LABOR-MARKET EXPERIENCES OF LOW-INCOME BLACK-WOMEN IN MIDDLE-CLASS SUBURBS - EVIDENCE FROM A SURVEY OF GAUTREAUX PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS

This article reports on a highly unusual experiment in racial and econ omic integration, the Gautreaux program. This program helps black fami lies who are either current or former residents of public housing move into subsidized housing in Chicago and its suburbs. Surveying a rando m sample of 332 participants, we find that suburban movers are signifi cantly more likely to have a job post-move than city movers, even amon g those who had never had a job before moving. Multivariate analysis s hows that these differences are significant even after controlling for respondents' previous work history, human capital, and personal chara cteristics. These results suggest that low-income urban blacks experie nce significant gains in employment by moving to middle-class suburbs. Thus, housing assistance may be an effective alternative to tradition al welfare-to-work programs.