Over the past three decades, the number of prison
inmates has increased by more than 500 percent, leaving the United
States the country with the highest incarceration rate in the world.
With over two million individuals currently incarcerated, and over
half a million prisoners released each year, the large and growing
numbers of men being processed through the criminal justice system
raises important questions about the consequences of this massive
institutional intervention. This paper focuses on the consequences
of incarceration for the employment outcomes of black and white
job seekers. In the present study, I adopt an experimental audit
approach to formally test the degree to which a criminal record
affects subsequent employment opportunities. By using matched pairs
of individuals to apply for real entry-level jobs, it becomes possible
to directly measure the extent to which a criminal record —
in the absence of other disqualifying characteristics — serves
as a barrier to employment among equally qualified applicants. I
find that a criminal record is associated with a 50 percent reduction
in employment opportunities for whites and a 64 percent reduction
for blacks. These findings reveal an important, and much under-recognized,
mechanism of stratification. A criminal record presents a major
barrier to employment, with important implications for racial disparities.
Devah Pager, Department of Sociology
and Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University
Hard copies of IPR working papers cost $5.00 each (international orders are $10 each). We only accept checks drawn on U.S. bank and payable in U.S. funds. Checks or
money orders should be made payable to Northwestern University and sent to
the following address:
Publications Department - WP Orders
Institute for Policy Research
2040 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, IL 60208-4100.
For information, call 847-491-8712 or email ipr@northwestern.edu.
Please note that we do not accept credit cards.
