Mass Incarceration, Macrosociology, and the Poor

Bruce Western and Christopher Muller

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2013, vol. 647, issue 1, 166-189

Abstract: The U.S. prison and jail population has grown fivefold in the 40 years since the early 1970s. The aggregate consequences of the growth in the penal system are widely claimed but have not been closely studied. We survey evidence for the aggregate relationship among the incarceration rate, employment rates, single-parenthood, public opinion, and crime. Employment among very low-skilled men has declined with rising incarceration. Punitive sentiment in public opinion has also softened as imprisonment increased. Single-parenthood and crime rates, however, are not systematically related to incarceration. We conclude with a discussion of the conceptual and empirical challenges that come with assessing the aggregate effects of mass incarceration on American poverty.

Keywords: incarceration; macrosciology; poverty; racial inequality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:anname:v:647:y:2013:i:1:p:166-189

DOI: 10.1177/0002716213475421

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