Marked: Race, Crime, and Finding Work in an Era of Mass Incarceration

This chapter measures the effects of incarceration on ex-offenders seeking employment. Some researchers argue that the impact of incarceration is negligible and that employment disparities result from preexisting offender traits. Others posit a significant impact on employment and earnings. Pager seeks to resolve this debate through field experiments centering on real-life job searches. This chapter establishes the groundwork for one of the book’s major themes: The Intersection of Race and Criminality in the Milwaukee Labor Market.

An Emerging Field of Research

Scholars have only recently begun to study the links between prison and employment. The four main research methods used are: 1) employer surveys, 2) ethnographies of job seekers, 3) statistical analyses of work trends, 4) experimental studies of hiring behavior. These complementary methods offer insights into employment barriers for ex-offenders. Pager describes and assesses the first three strategies before turning to her primary approach: the experimental audit method.

Non-Experimental Methods for Studying the Labor Market Consequences of Incarceration

Employer attitude surveys are central to studies of employment and incarceration. One of the advantages of surveys is the ease with which employers can be recruited to participate. Large sample sizes allow researchers to identify patterns in employer attitudes. For instance, surveys suggest that attitudes vary by job type, with sales jobs placing greater restrictions of ex-offenders than laborer positions (43).