Marked: Race, Crime, and Finding Work in an Era of Mass Incarceration

Devah Pager

Published by University of Chicago Press 2007

Marked

Race, Crime, and Finding Work in an Era of Mass Incarceration

Devah Pager

https://doi.org/10.7208/9780226644851

Overview
Contents

About this book

Nearly every job application asks it: have you ever been convicted of a crime? For the hundreds of thousands of young men leaving American prisons each year, their answer to that question may determine whether they can find work and begin rebuilding their lives.

The product of an innovative field experiment, Marked gives us our first real glimpse into the tremendous difficulties facing ex-offenders in the job market. Devah Pager matched up pairs of young men, randomly assigned them criminal records, then sent them on hundreds of real job searches throughout the city of Milwaukee. Her applicants were attractive, articulate, and capable—yet ex-offenders received less than half the callbacks of the equally qualified applicants without criminal backgrounds. Young black men, meanwhile, paid a particularly high price: those with clean records fared no better in their job searches than white men just out of prison. Such shocking barriers to legitimate work, Pager contends, are an important reason that many ex-prisoners soon find themselves back in the realm of poverty, underground employment, and crime that led them to prison in the first place.

“Using scholarly research, field research in Milwaukee, and graphics, [Pager] shows that ex-offenders, white or black, stand a very poor chance of getting a legitimate job. . . . Both informative and convincing.”—Library Journal

“Marked is that rare book: a penetrating text that rings with moral concern couched in vivid prose—and one of the most useful sociological studies in years.”—Michael Eric Dyson

Author / Editor information

Devah Pager is associate professor of sociology at Princeton University.

Reviews

“In 1970, President Nixon announced a massive war on crime. More prisons were built and more people incarcerated than ever before in U.S. history. With the media's portrayal of convicts as demons, the public attitude toward anyone who had ever been arrested became bleak and hostile. According to Pager, this attitude prevails today, particularly in the job market. Using scholarly research, field research in Milwaukee, and graphics, she shows that ex-offenders, white or black, stand a very poor chance of getting a legitimate job (though black men with clean records fared the same as whites just out of prison). As a result, many live in poverty or return to crime. Pager is not an activist clamoring for reform but instead presents her findings in a clearheaded manner, pointing out the societal consequences of the predicament and suggesting ways for change. Written for the general reader with a nod to the academic audience, the book is both informative and convincing. Highly recommended.”

— Library Journal

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. Mass Incarceration and the Problems of Prisoner Reentry Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	9
2. The Labor Market Consequences of Incarceration Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	28
3. Measuring the Labor Market Consequences of Incarceration Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	41
4. The Mark of a Criminal Record Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	58
5. The Mark of Race Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	86
6. Two Strikes and You’re Out: The Intensification of Racial and Criminal Stigma Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	100
7. But What If . . .? Variations on the Experimental Design Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	117
8. Conclusion: Missing the Mark Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	144
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	161
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	213
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	235

Language: English
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 256
Illustrations
- Other: 18 halftones, 5 line drawings
Keywords: prison; jailtime; conviction; labor; parole; probation; employment; stigma; recidivism; race; crime; legal system; stereotypes; fear; poverty; skills; training; rehabilitation; reentering society; felon; mass incarceration; racism; sociology; politics; nonfiction; criminal records; discrimination; bias; hiring practices; job applications; masculinity; men; milwaukee; urban; city; african americans; ex convicts

eBook

Published: September 15, 2008
ISBN: 9780226644851