How do car donation programs effect travel, income, and healthcare access among poor families?

Abstract

What happens when you give poor families a car? For decades, scholars have suggested that giving poor families cars can help them move up the economic ladder, yet these programs have rarely been studied. My research will study changes in poor families’ lives when they receive a car from the largest vehicle donation program in the country. I interviewed 30 individuals living in Maryland and Virginia who received a subsidized car. Having a car eased their daily travel and allowed them to transition to better-paying jobs, helped them move to neighborhoods with more opportunities, improved their access to healthcare, and enabled them and their children to participate more fully in school-related activities. I also situate the subsidized cars within interviewees’ mobility history. Most had owned cars before, and subsidized car ownership programs offer low-income consumers a safe alternative to a risky and expensive market for used cars.