Unmarked? Criminal Record Clearing and Employment Outcomes
Unmarked? Criminal Record Clearing and Employment Outcomes
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发表时间：
2017
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通讯作者：
Joshua Epstein
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作者：
Jeffrey Selbin;J. Mccrary;Joshua Epstein
据估计，每三个美国成年人中就有一个有犯罪记录。虽然有些记录是关于严重罪行的，但大多数是关于逮捕或相对较低级别的轻罪。在一个高度安全担忧、容易获得数据和加强犯罪背景调查的时代，这些记录对有偿就业和其他机会来说是一个巨大的障碍。哈佛大学社会学家德瓦·佩格将有犯罪记录的人描述为带有负面工作证书的人。针对这一问题，律师们推出了取消标记计划，以帮助人们利用法律记录清理补救措施。我们对其中一个项目的参与者进行了随机抽样研究，以分析记录清算干预对就业结果的影响。在我们的数据中，我们使用方法来控制选择偏差和经济变化的影响，我们发现了以下证据：(1)记录清算干预提高了参与者的就业率和平均实际收入，(2)人们在一段时间的收入被压低后寻求创纪录清算补救措施。需要做更多的研究来了解积极影响的持久性及其在不同当地环境和劳动力市场中的影响，但这些发现表明，记录清理干预对有犯罪记录的人的就业结果有意义的不同。研究结果还表明，早期干预对于增加有犯罪记录的人的就业机会非常重要。这种干预可能包括更多的法律服务，但也可能包括通过实施法律或其他机制清除记录，这种机制不会将取消标记的责任推给有犯罪记录的人。
An estimated one in three American adults has a criminal record. While some records are for serious offenses, most are for arrests or relatively lowlevel misdemeanors. In an era of heightened security concerns, easily available data, and increased criminal background checks, these records act as a substantial barrier to gainful employment and other opportunities. Harvard sociologist Devah Pager describes people with criminal records as “marked” with a negative job credential. In response to this problem, lawyers have launched unmarking programs to help people take advantage of legal record clearing remedies. We studied a random sample of participants in one such program to analyze the impact of the record clearing intervention on employment outcomes. Using methods to control for selection bias and the effects of changes in the economy in our data, we found evidence that: (1) the record clearing intervention boosted participants’ employment rates and average real earnings, and (2) people sought record clearing remedies after a period of suppressed earnings. More research needs to be done to understand the durability of the positive impact and its effects in different local settings and labor markets, but these findings suggest that the record clearing intervention makes a meaningful difference in employment outcomes for people with criminal records. The findings also suggest the importance of early intervention to increase employment opportunities for people with criminal records. Such interventions might include more legal services, but they might also include record clearing by operation of law or another mechanism that does not put the onus of unmarking on the person with a criminal record.