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

有理由相信，近几十年来当地劳动力市场状况的变化与美国的监禁率有关。技术进步和城市地区制造业生产的下降消除了许多以前没有接受过大学教育的工人可以获得的高薪工作机会，导致许多人的经济状况比以前更糟糕。在同一时期，社会政策发生了根本性转变，反映了对贫困人口的新取向，福利补贴的重大变化就是明证。与此同时，另一种影响穷人的制度性做法--监狱监禁现象也有所增加。更大的经济、劳动力市场和政治背景与监禁率之间的关系还没有完全弄清楚。研究尚未考虑具体的劳动力市场转变(例如，去工业化)如何影响低技能工人的经济状况，以及同样的转变如何可能影响监禁率。同样，没有研究调查经济和劳动力市场变化的影响，因为它们与重新定义和塑造针对最有可能面临经济困难的人群的政策的政治运动不谋而合。这项研究将使用多种数据来源调查上述问题，考察这些关系在一段时间内(1980-2000年)和500多个当地地区的变化。这项研究是理解监禁模式如何受到当地劳动力市场条件和经济不平等影响的必要步骤。监禁是一项重大的国家干预，其后果超出了监狱的范围。例如，学者们指出，不断上升的监禁率产生了深刻的负面影响，包括不平等加剧和负面的健康后果。因此，这项研究可能会为刑事司法和经济政策提供参考。如果调查结果表明，穷人和少数族裔人口经历的劳动力市场不平等与监禁率的上升呈正相关，则可以利用这一信息为公共政策提供信息，以便更好地针对这些群体面临的问题。

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.