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Session Submission Summary

Comparative Risks of Jail and Prison Incarceration and Their Consequences

Wed, Nov 12, 5:00 to 6:20pm, 2, Dogwood - Second Floor

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract/Description

A large literature examines the micro- and macro-level consequences of mass incarceration. Yet, this literature is limited by researchers’ inability to distinguish between the relative effects of jail and prison incarceration. These distinct effects are important to disentangle as populations in jails and prisons differ in key demographics, including racial composition, and jail populations are growing while prison populations are shrinking. Theoretically, there are reasons to expect that the impacts of incarceration in these two major types of confinement facilities will differ, but the direction and magnitude of these differences is unclear. It could be that prison incarceration has more deleterious consequences due to the longer average duration of prison incarcerations, yet many individuals experience consistent churning through jails. Prisons and jails also differ in the educational and healthcare services they provide to the incarcerated population; the access that is granted to family members; and other conditions that are potentially relevant to labor market, health and family outcomes. Using newly derived data, we present estimates of the cumulative risk of jail incarceration and prison incarceration. We also present papers that explore various outcomes following incarceration in a jail or prison, including functional limitations, marital dissolution, and wage mobility.

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