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Rehabilitating futures: Assessing the effects of correctional employment-focused programs on recidivism and employment

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  • Antonella Mancino, M.

Abstract

In this paper, I explore the effects of participating in employment-focused programs during incarceration, encompassing job skills and vocational training, on post-release employment and crime outcomes. I develop and estimate a dynamic model of crime, employment, and correctional program participation, using data from serious juvenile offenders in Maricopa County and Philadelphia County. I find that participating in employment-focused programs results in a 4.9%-point increase in employment and a 7.9%-point reduction in crime within three years post-release. These programs facilitate the transition to the legal labor sector and enhance employment stability, mitigating some of the adverse effects of criminal records. They also have a modest impact on preferences towards crime. Furthermore, I show that correctional employment-focused programs significantly affect post-release crime and employment outcomes even if criminal experience has accumulated, and that policies that enhance the impact of such programs on the job-arrival rate can have crucial effects on subsequent crime and employment outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Antonella Mancino, M., 2025. "Rehabilitating futures: Assessing the effects of correctional employment-focused programs on recidivism and employment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:173:y:2025:i:c:s0014292125000054
    DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2025.104954
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Incarceration; Employment-Focused Programs; Recidivism; Employment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J47 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Coercive Labor Markets
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • P36 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Consumer Economics; Health; Education and Training; Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty

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