Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

2013

DOI

https://doi.org/10.18574/nyu/9780814789308.003.0008

Abstract

This chapter turns to the response of the criminal justice system to neighborhood violence, in particular examining to what extent persistently high levels of incarceration can depress economic well-being and human capital in disadvantaged and racially segregated communities. A panel analysis of New York City neighborhoods between 1985 and 1996, a period in which the city's violent-crime rates both rose and fell sharply, provides evidence that high incarceration rates reduce income growth, educational attainment, and work experience in disadvantaged and racially segregated neighborhoods. To rectify this, targeted micro investment and housing development in such areas can break the connection between incarceration and economic and educational disadvantage.

Disciplines

Behavioral Economics | Criminology and Criminal Justice | Law

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