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Sequencing Disadvantage: Barriers to Employment Facing Young Black and White Men with Criminal Records

Author

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  • Devah Pager

    (Office of Population Research at Princeton University)

  • Bruce Western

    (Program in Inequality and Social Policy at Harvard University)

  • Naomi Sugie

    (Princeton University)

Abstract

In this article, the authors report the results of a large-scale field experiment conducted in New York City investigating the effects of race and a prison record on employment. Teams of black and white men were matched and sent to apply for low-wage jobs throughout the city, presenting equivalent resumés and differing only in their race and criminal background. The authors find a significant negative effect of a criminal record on employment outcomes that appears substantially larger for African Americans. The sequence of interactions preceding hiring decisions suggests that black applicants are less often invited to interview, thereby providing fewer opportunities to establish rapport with the employer. Furthermore, employers' general reluctance to discuss the criminal record of an applicant appears especially harmful for black ex-offenders. Overall, these results point to the importance of rapport-building for finding work, something that the stigmatizing characteristics of minority and criminal status make more difficult to achieve.

Suggested Citation

  • Devah Pager & Bruce Western & Naomi Sugie, 2009. "Sequencing Disadvantage: Barriers to Employment Facing Young Black and White Men with Criminal Records," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 623(1), pages 195-213, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:623:y:2009:i:1:p:195-213
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716208330793
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Devah Pager, 2003. "The mark of a criminal record," Natural Field Experiments 00319, The Field Experiments Website.
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    Cited by:

    1. Keith Finlay & Michael Mueller‐Smith & Brittany Street, 2023. "Criminal Justice Involvement, Self‐Employment, and Barriers in Recent Public Policy," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(1), pages 11-34, January.
    2. Alvin Thomas & Jennifer Clare Wirth & Julie Poehlmann-Tynan & David J. Pate, 2022. "“When She Says Daddy”: Black Fathers’ Recidivism following Reentry from Jail," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-24, March.
    3. Anke Ramakers, 2022. "Secrecy as best policy? Stigma management and employment outcomes after release from prison," The British Journal of Criminology, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, vol. 62(2), pages 501-518.
    4. Gultekin Gollu & Mariyana Zapryanova, 2022. "The effect of Medicaid on recidivism: Evidence from Medicaid suspension and termination policies," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 89(2), pages 326-372, October.
    5. Roseanna Sommers & Vanessa K. Bohns, 2024. "Consent searches and underestimation of compliance: Robustness to type of search, consequences of search, and demographic sample," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(1), pages 4-34, March.

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