Full Citation
Title: Work and opportunity before and after incarceration
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2018
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Abstract: More than 2.2 million individuals are incarcerated in the United States and more than 620,000 are released from prison annually. Among individuals released from prison, one third will return to prison at some point (Rhodes et al. 2014). Research suggests the mark of a criminal record imposes impediments to employment, exacerbating economic disparities and contributing to recidivism (Pager 2003, Mueller-Smith 2015). Based in part on the belief that successful reintegration requires employment and economic opportunities in the formal workplace, the tax code provides subsidies for employers that hire ex-felons. The tax code also provides broad-based incentives intended to encourage economic opportunity and formal employment that may benefit ex-prisoners, including the earned income tax credit (EITC) and place-based subsidies for disadvantaged neighborhoods, like Empowerment Zones. However, targeted incentives have low rates of takeup and high administrative burdens, and there are few broadly available incentives for childless adults. We examine the labor market outcomes and economic characteristics of the incarcerated population using data maintained by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in an effort to improve tax policies to aid the re-integration of ex-prisoners. Starting in 2012, the Federal Bureau . . .
Url: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/es_20180314_looneyincarceration_final.pdf
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Authors: Looney, Adam; Turner, Nicholas
Publisher: The Brookings Institution
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Crime and Deviance, Labor Force and Occupational Structure
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