The theory of spatial mismatch states that the physical separation of people from their employment contributes to persistent unemployment and poverty. Although early research on spatial mismatch related more to housing discrimination, transit has long been considered a way to alleviate this issue by providing access to opportunity for disadvantaged populations. In this paper, we test the theory that transit can act as a moderator on the relationship between spatial mismatch and unemployment and poverty. We find that transit does affect, though modestly, unemployment and poverty through its effect on compactness. This study is the first to find a relationship between transit and poverty using a national sample of US regions. The findings give credence to transit-supportive policies that seek to use transit as a lever to improve regional economic conditions and alleviate unemployment and poverty.

空间失配理论指出，人们与就业的实际隔离导致持续的失业和贫困。尽管有关空间不匹配的早期研究更多地与住房歧视有关，但长期以来，人们一直认为过境是通过为处境不利的人群提供机会来缓解这一问题的一种方法。在本文中，我们测试了过境可以充当空间错配与失业和贫困之间关系的调节者的理论。我们发现，过境确实会通过对紧凑性的影响来影响失业和贫困，尽管影响不大。这项研究是首次使用美国地区的国家样本来发现过境与贫困之间的关系。