American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
The Effect of Criminal Records on Access to Employment
American Economic Review
vol. 107,
no. 5, May 2017
(pp. 560–64)
Abstract
This paper adds to the empirical evidence that criminal records are a barrier to employment. Using data from 2,655 online applications sent on behalf of fictitious male applicants, we show that employers are 60 percent more likely to call applicants that do not have a felony conviction. We further investigate whether this effect varies based on applicant race (black versus white), crime type (drug versus property crime), industry (restaurants versus retail), jurisdiction (New Jersey versus New York City), local crime rate, and local racial composition. Although magnitudes vary somewhat, in every subsample the conviction effect is large, significant, and negative.Citation
Agan, Amanda, and Sonja Starr. 2017. "The Effect of Criminal Records on Access to Employment." American Economic Review, 107 (5): 560–64. DOI: 10.1257/aer.p20171003Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J23 Labor Demand
- K31 Labor Law
- K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law