Literature Review
Incarceration and Its Effects on Release’s Labor Market Success
Introduction
The study of the effects of incarceration on individuals’ performance in the labor market began in the 1970s as more people were being put in prison. From 1987 to 1996, time served in state prisons increased by 40 percent or more, depending upon the offense (Kling 1). This question about prison inmate’s performance being affected in the labor market arises out the fact that there are social and economic consequences after being released from prison. The fact that 95% of prisoners will be released at some time necessitates the importance of understanding the impact incarceration has on the labor market (Western 952). In fact, workers who are not contributing …show more content…
In fact, controlling for these variables has led to even more surprising conclusions. For example, researcher Jeffrey Kling determined in his study dividing inmates into groups based on incarceration length produced different conclusions. Instead of observing a negative effect or no effect at all, Kling found a positive relationship between incarceration and employment for longer times incarcerated following inmates released from prison. Kling explains that his conclusion is possible by explaining that longer incarceration lengths are most successful in correcting inmates’ behavior due to there being more time to participate in rehabilitation programs. Despite longer incarceration times being better for releases in the short run, in the long run, over seven years, Kling found that the economic prospects for releases were all the same (Kling 8). While Kling does believe, incarceration can help releases the short run, he also concedes that education level is a major factor affecting employment after prison. Kling observed the negative relationship between incarceration and employment was most prominent for the more educated no matter the length of incarceration (Kling 14). Kling admits that “the theoretical mechanisms of lost experience and human capital depreciation are probably at work, but dismisses these effects as small in magnitude for former inmates and are perhaps being offset by prison programs and the withering of social connections to criminal opportunity in communities and peer groups when incarceration spells are longer -- making legitimate work more attractive” (Kling 16). Therefore, there are some scholars that believe incarceration corrects inmates’ decencies and properly reintegrates release back into the
Incarceration and Its Effects on Release’s Labor Market Success
Introduction
The study of the effects of incarceration on individuals’ performance in the labor market began in the 1970s as more people were being put in prison. From 1987 to 1996, time served in state prisons increased by 40 percent or more, depending upon the offense (Kling 1). This question about prison inmate’s performance being affected in the labor market arises out the fact that there are social and economic consequences after being released from prison. The fact that 95% of prisoners will be released at some time necessitates the importance of understanding the impact incarceration has on the labor market (Western 952). In fact, workers who are not contributing …show more content…
In fact, controlling for these variables has led to even more surprising conclusions. For example, researcher Jeffrey Kling determined in his study dividing inmates into groups based on incarceration length produced different conclusions. Instead of observing a negative effect or no effect at all, Kling found a positive relationship between incarceration and employment for longer times incarcerated following inmates released from prison. Kling explains that his conclusion is possible by explaining that longer incarceration lengths are most successful in correcting inmates’ behavior due to there being more time to participate in rehabilitation programs. Despite longer incarceration times being better for releases in the short run, in the long run, over seven years, Kling found that the economic prospects for releases were all the same (Kling 8). While Kling does believe, incarceration can help releases the short run, he also concedes that education level is a major factor affecting employment after prison. Kling observed the negative relationship between incarceration and employment was most prominent for the more educated no matter the length of incarceration (Kling 14). Kling admits that “the theoretical mechanisms of lost experience and human capital depreciation are probably at work, but dismisses these effects as small in magnitude for former inmates and are perhaps being offset by prison programs and the withering of social connections to criminal opportunity in communities and peer groups when incarceration spells are longer -- making legitimate work more attractive” (Kling 16). Therefore, there are some scholars that believe incarceration corrects inmates’ decencies and properly reintegrates release back into the