Moving to Opportunity in Boston: Early Results of a Randomized Mobility Experiment

This paper examines the short-run impacts of a change in residential neighborhood on the well-being of low-income families, using evidence from a program in which eligibility for a housing voucher was determined by random lottery. We examine the experiences of households at the Boston site of Moving To Opportunity (MTO), a demonstration program in five cities. Families in high poverty public housing projects applied to MTO and were assigned by lottery to one of three groups: Experimental -- offered mobility counseling and a Section 8 subsidy valid only in a Census tract with a poverty rate of less than 10 percent; Section 8 Comparison -- offered a geographically unrestricted Section 8 subsidy; or Control -- offered no new assistance, but continued to be eligible for public housing.