NCJ Number
170947
Journal
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 33 Issue: 4 Dated: (November 1996) Pages: 471-496
Date Published
1998
Length
26 pages
Annotation
A data set that contained 17 years of criminal activity and 9 years of earnings records for 1,176 men released from Georgia prisons was used to examine which demographic and criminal history characteristics affect labor market patterns among offenders released from prison.
Abstract
The research focused on the variables in traditional human capital models; these models suggest that age, race, and education affect individual labor market opportunities and levels of participation in crime. The analysis produced three main results. First, the participants' labor market involvement rates and earnings levels were extremely low. Second, the traditional findings on the effects of race and education on earnings levels were supported for this criminally active subset of the population. However, race and education did not affect employment rates. The employment rates of older individuals were especially low, even after controlling for characteristics expected to affect labor market attachment. Third, the amount of time incarcerated did not significantly affect earnings in the community, conditional on any employment. Figures, tables, and 33 references (Author abstract modified)