Doctoral Dissertation Research: Local Labor Markets, Politics and Imprisonment: The Effects of Labor Market Opportunities, Minority Presence, & Political Ideology on Imprisonme

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There are reasons to believe that changes in local labor market conditions in recent decades are associated with rates of imprisonment in the U.S. Technological advancements and declining manufacturing production in urban areas eliminated many high-paying job opportunities previously available to workers without college educations, leaving many financially worse-off than before. During the same time-period, social policies shifted fundamentally, reflecting a new orientation toward poor populations, as evidenced by major changes to welfare subsidies. At the same time, incarceration in prisons, another institutional practice affecting the poor, increased. The relationships between larger economic, labor market and political contexts and imprisonment rates are not yet understood fully. Research has yet to consider how specific labor market shifts (e.g., deindustrialization) affected the economic situations of less-skilled workers and how the same shifts may also influence imprisonment rates. Similarly, no research has investigated the effects of economic and labor market shifts as they coincided with political movements that redefined and shaped policies targeting populations most likely to face economic hardships. This research will investigate said issues using a combination of data sources, examining these relationships over time (1980 - 2000) and across more than 500 local areas. This research is a necessary step in understanding how imprisonment patterns are shaped by local labor market conditions and economic inequality. Incarceration is a major state intervention that has consequences that extend beyond prison walls. For example, scholars note that rising imprisonment rates have had profound negative effects, including increases in inequality, and negative health outcomes. Thus, this research may inform criminal justice and economic policies. If the findings suggest that labor market inequalities experienced by poor and minority populations are positively associated with increases in imprisonment rates, this information may be used to inform public policy that better targets the issues faced by these groups.