Collateral Costs: The Effects of Incarceration on the Employment and Earnings of Young Workers

42 Pages Posted: 22 Nov 2007

See all articles by Harry J. Holzer

Harry J. Holzer

Georgetown University - Public Policy Institute (GPPI); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: October 2007

Abstract

In this paper I review the empirical evidence on the effects of incarceration on the subsequent employment and earnings of less-educated young prisoners. In this discussion I include evidence from: 1) Employer surveys and audit studies of hiring; 2) Survey data (mostly from the NLSY79) and administrative data; and 3) state-level incarceration data linked to micro employment data for young black men. The strengths and weaknesses of each type of analysis are discussed as well. The preponderance of the evidence considered suggests that, all else equal, spells of incarceration do tend to reduce subsequent employment and earnings for those with criminal records.

Keywords: incarceration, employment, earnings

JEL Classification: J15, J2

Suggested Citation

Holzer, Harry J., Collateral Costs: The Effects of Incarceration on the Employment and Earnings of Young Workers (October 2007). IZA Discussion Paper No. 3118, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1031709 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1031709

Harry J. Holzer (Contact Author)

Georgetown University - Public Policy Institute (GPPI) ( email )

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Washington, DC 20057
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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