Can Diverse Activities Have a Combined Impact? Examining the Effects of the Moving to Work Demonstration on Housing Choice and Self-Sufficiency Outcomes

Mark Treskon
Matthew Gerken
Martha M. Galvez
Urban Institute

Public housing agencies (PHAs) participating in the Moving to Work (MTW) demonstration can use funding and policy flexibilities to further the three statutory objectives of the demonstration—to (1) reduce cost and achieve greater cost-effectiveness, (2) promote family self-sufficiency, and (3) increase housing choice. This report examines the success that MTW agencies had in meeting the housing choice and self-sufficiency objectives. Using longitudinal HUD administrative data and a database of publicly available MTW Annual Plans, we conduct comparative interrupted time series (CITS) analysis to compare MTW groups with traditional PHAs to identify whether MTW status or policies are associated with progress toward meeting the second and third statutory objectives. Results indicate some signs of a positive relationship between MTW and outcomes of interest. Of the three indicators we detail in this paper, we find that MTW status and activity are associated with an increased share of new households, not associated with the share of tenant-based vouchers in low-poverty tracts, and may be associated with an increase in the share of households with incomes higher than when they entered housing.