Incarceration and unwed fathers in fragile families

Abstract

Criminal justice policies have resulted in millions of Americans being incarcerated over the past three decades in systems that provide little or no rehabilitation. This study uses a new dataset - The Fragile Families Study - to document poor labor market outcomes that are associated with incarceration. We find that fathers who had been incarcerated earned 28 percent less annually than fathers who were never incarcerated These previously incarcerated fathers worked less weeks per year, less hours per week and were less likely to be working during the week prior to their interview. We also found that fathers who had been incarcerated were more likely to depend on underground employment and off-the-books earnings.