Keeping it in the Family: Mass Incarceration and Wealth Inequality in American Households.

• In Event: Consequences of Inequality in Attainment

Abstract

Growth in mass incarceration over the last four decades has contributed to rising levels of socioeconomic inequality in the United States. Research shows former offenders with criminal records experience greater levels of labor inactivity, more employment volatility, reduced wages, fewer weeks worked, and lower annual earnings. Despite copious scholarship on the collateral consequences of incarceration for employment and wages, few studies have examined the long-run effects of criminal justice contact on the accumulation of wealth. In this paper, we study how the structure of retirement benefits associated with employment contributes to racial and economic disparities in wealth accumulation for former inmates and co-residential family members. Drawing on data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and other data sources, we quantify aggregate wealth loss by race and educational attainment due to growth in mass incarceration over time. Fixed-effects and conditional change panel models are used to examine differences in the types and amounts of assets and liabilities between individuals and households exposed and unexposed to incarceration. Our findings have significant import for understanding how mass incarceration acts as a contributing factor to the persistence and intractability of wealth inequality for American families.

Authors

• Bryan L Sykes, University of California-Irvine

• Michelle Maroto, University of Alberta