Ex-Inmates and Residential Segregation in America

宾夕法尼亚州立大学这项研究的目的是确定美国的监禁率是如何影响美国社区的经济和种族构成的。美国是世界上监禁人数最高的国家之一。我们的第一个假设是，在其他条件相同的情况下，前囚犯往往会生活在更多社会经济不利的社区。对于任何两个在其他方面相似的人(相同的种族、相同的教育水平、相似的犯罪记录等)，预计在监狱服刑的人出狱后将生活在更不利的社区。其次，我们假设黑人男性的监禁率非常高？2001年美国司法部的数据表明，每六名黑人男性成年人中就有一人在一生中的某个时候曾在监狱服刑？通过将黑人前囚犯不成比例地引导到黑人同质社区，从而影响社区的种族构成。如果这一假设是正确的，那么黑人的高监禁率可能正在减缓美国社区的种族融合。我们的第三个假设是，在出狱后的几年里，监禁对社区组成的影响会增加。监禁破坏了社会纽带，阻碍了经济和劳动力市场的机会，减少了社会机会。这些有害影响预计将随着时间的推移而累积，并导致住房和居住机会的减少。因此，出狱时间越长，前囚犯很可能会越来越多地聚集在几个居民区，这些地区预计会出现经济不达标的情况，而且(至少对黑人来说)种族同质性。更广泛的影响根据皮尤最近的一项研究，在任何给定的时间点，每100名美国成年人中就有一人被监禁。这一事实对美国社会的持久影响尚未完全实现。虽然平均刑期略低于五年，但其影响可能会持续一生。有研究证据表明，监禁降低了就业前景，压低了收入，并导致了一系列健康问题。这项研究为讨论增加了一个社区层面。事实上，拟议的项目是首批使用具有全国代表性的纵向数据和地理信息系统及其他适当方法来系统评估囚犯服刑后返回的社区的项目之一。因此，这项研究对监狱人口的增长在多大程度上影响了美国社区的经济和种族构成进行了严格的评估。我们使用分析方法来比较出狱囚犯的居住地点和未被监禁的可比个人的居住地点。我们尤其感兴趣的是，确定美国越来越多的前囚犯是否加剧了美国人在社会经济和种族方面的居住隔离。正如之前提到的，黑人的高监禁率可能正在减缓美国社区的种族融合。简而言之，这项研究解决的问题是，监禁是否通过其对社区经济和种族构成的影响，对美国社区的社会组织产生了比之前认识到的更广泛的影响。

SES-1023725Glenn Firebaugh Michael MassogliaPennsylvania State UniversityThis study aims is to determine how the rate of incarceration in the United States, which is among the highest in the world, affects the economic and racial composition of American neighborhoods. Our first hypothesis is that ex-inmates will tend to live in more socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods, other things equal. For any two individuals who are otherwise similar (same race, same level of education, similar criminal record, and so on), the one who serves time in prison is predicted to live in a more disadvantaged neighborhood after release from prison. Second, we hypothesize that the very high rate of incarceration among black men ?2001 data from the U.S. Bureau of Justice indicates one in six black male adults had served time in prison at some point in their lives ? affects the racial composition of neighborhoods by steering black ex-inmates disproportionately into homogeneously black neighborhoods. If this is hypothesis is correct , then the high rate of incarceration of blacks may be slowing the racial integration of American neighborhoods. Our third hypothesis is that the effect of incarceration on neighborhood composition increases over the years after release from prison. Incarceration fractures social bonds, stunts economic and labor market opportunities, and diminishes social chances. These detrimental effects are expected to cumulate over time and result in diminished housing and residential opportunities. As a result, ex-inmates are likely to increasingly cluster in a few residential areas the longer they have been out of prison, and these areas are predicted to be economically substandard and (at least for blacks) racially homogeneous. Broader ImpactsAccording to a recent PEW study, at any given point in time, one of every 100 American adults is incarcerated. The lasting implications of this fact for American society have yet to be fully realized. Although the average length of a prison sentence is slightly less than five years, the repercussions can last a lifetime. There is research evidence that incarceration reduces job prospects, depresses earnings, and causes a host of health problems. This study adds a community dimension to the discussion. Indeed, the proposed project is among the first to use nationally representative longitudinal data and GIS and other appropriate methods to assess, systematically, the communities to which inmates return after serving their sentences. This study thus provides a rigorous assessment of how much the growth of the prison population has affected the economic and racial composition of American neighborhoods. We use analytical methods to compare the residential location of ex-inmates with the residential location of comparable individuals who were not incarcerated. We are especially interested in determining whether the growing number of ex-inmates in the U.S. has exacerbated the residential segregation of Americans along socioeconomic and racial lines. As previously noted, it is possible that the high rate of incarceration of blacks is serving to slow the racial integration of American neighborhoods. In short, this research addresses the question of whether incarceration, through its effects on the economic and racial composition of neighborhoods, has had a broader impact on the social organization of American communities than has been previously recognized.