'Ban the Box' measures help high-crime neighborhoods

Stan Veuger and Daniel Shoag

AEI Economics Working Papers from American Enterprise Institute

Abstract: A sizable number of localities have in recent years limited the use of criminal background checks in hiring decisions, or "banned the box." Using LEHD Origin-Destination Employment and American Community Survey data, we show that these bans increased employment of residents in high-crime neighborhoods by as much as 4%. These increases are particularly large in the public sector. At the same time, we establish using job postings data that employers respond to ban-the-box measures by raising experience requirements. A perhaps unintended consequence of this is that women, who are less likely to be convicted of crimes, see their employment opportunities reduced.

Keywords: Labor economics; Prison Education and Reentry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-03
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Journal Article: Ban-the-Box Measures Help High-Crime Neighborhoods (2021)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aei:rpaper:880075

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