Abstract
As many as two-thirds of newly-released inmates will be arrested for a new offense within 3 years. This study evaluates the impact of job assistance on recidivism rates among ex-offenders. The job assistance program, run though the private company America Works, uses a network of employers to place clients. Ex-offenders were randomly assigned to intensive job assistance (treatment group) or the standard program (control group). The intensive program is meant to improve average work readiness for ex-offenders. It reduces the likelihood of subsequent arrest among nonviolent ex-offenders, but has little effect on violent ex-offenders. The rearrest rate for nonviolent ex-offenders in the treatment group was 19 percentage points lower than those in the control group. The rearrest rate for violent ex-offenders in the treatment group was indistinguishable from those in the control group. We estimate benefits from intensive job assistance from averted crimes and find that they outweigh the $5,000 up-front cost for nonviolent ex-offenders.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1308-1327 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Economic Inquiry |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2021 Western Economic Association International
Funding
We thank Jamie Sharpe, Lewis Warren, and Diana David for research assistance; and the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research for financial support. Howard Husock has provided many insights along the way. In addition, two anonymous referees gave excellent feedback.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Manhattan Institute for Policy Research |
Keywords
- criminal recidivism
- job readiness
- prisoner reentry
- workforce training
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Business, Management and Accounting
- Economics and Econometrics
