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Author: Finlay, Keith
Resulting in 4 citations.
1. Finlay, Keith
Effect of Employer Access to Criminal History Data on the Labor Market Outcomes of Ex-Offenders and Non-Offenders
Presented: Cambridge, MA, NBER Labor Market Intermediation Conference, May 17-18, 2007
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Crime; Discrimination, Employer; Employment; Incarceration/Jail; Job Search; Labor Market Outcomes; Self-Reporting; Wage Determination; Wage Levels

This paper examines how employer access to criminal history data influences the labor market outcomes of ex-offenders and non-offenders using detailed self-reported criminal history data and labor market variables from the 1997 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and a dataset I collected on state policies regarding criminal history records. Specifically, are the labor market effects of incarceration stronger and longer lasting in states that provide public access to criminal history records? Do non-offenders who are otherwise similar to exoffenders have improved labor market outcomes when employers can verify their records of non-offense? I test if these effects vary by race in the context of possible statistical discrimination by employers. I find evidence that employment effects of incarceration are more negative and last longer in states that provide criminal history records over the Internet than in states that do not. There is some evidence that ex-offenders have lower wages in those states with open records policies.
Bibliography Citation
Finlay, Keith. "Effect of Employer Access to Criminal History Data on the Labor Market Outcomes of Ex-Offenders and Non-Offenders." Presented: Cambridge, MA, NBER Labor Market Intermediation Conference, May 17-18, 2007.
2. Finlay, Keith
Effect of Employer Access to Criminal History Data on the Labor Market Outcomes of Ex-Offenders and Non-Offenders
NBER Working Papers No. 13935, National Bureau of Economic Research, 2008.
Also: hhttp://www.nber.org/papers/w13935.pdf
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Discrimination; Employment; Human Capital; Incarceration/Jail; Job Search; Labor Market Outcomes; Self-Reporting; Statistics; Wage Determination; Wage Levels

Since 1997, states have begun to make criminal history records publicly available over the Internet. This paper exploits this previously unexamined variation to identify the effect of expanded employer access to criminal history data on the labor market outcomes of ex-offenders and non-offenders. Employers express a strong aversion to hiring ex-offenders, but there is likely asymmetric information about criminal records. Wider availability of criminal history records should adversely affect the labor market outcomes of ex-offenders. A model of statistical discrimination also predicts that non-offenders from groups with high rates of criminal offense should have improved labor market outcomes when criminal history records become more accessible. This paper tests these hypotheses with criminal and labor market histories from the 1997 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. I find evidence that labor market outcomes are worse for ex-offenders once state criminal history records become available over the Internet, and somewhat weaker evidence that outcomes are better for non-offenders from highly offending groups. Results for ex-offenders demonstrate the presence of imperfect information about criminal records by employers. The non-offender results are consistent with statistical discrimination by employers. Estimates may be confounded by a short sample period and ongoing human capital investments, but the research design provides a unique setting for testing theories of statistical discrimination.
Bibliography Citation
Finlay, Keith. "Effect of Employer Access to Criminal History Data on the Labor Market Outcomes of Ex-Offenders and Non-Offenders." NBER Working Papers No. 13935, National Bureau of Economic Research, 2008.
3. Finlay, Keith
Effect of Employer Access to Criminal History Data on the Labor Market Outcomes of Ex-Offenders and Non-Offenders
Presented: Washington, DC, Bureau of Labor Statistics Conference Center, NLSY97 Tenth Anniversary Conference, May 29-30, 2008.
Also: http://harrisschool.uchicago.edu/Research/conferences/NLSYConf/pdf/finlay.pdf
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: U.S. Department of Labor
Keyword(s): Crime; Discrimination, Employer; Employment; Human Capital; Incarceration/Jail; Labor Force Participation; Labor Market Outcomes

This paper exploits this previously unexamined variation to identify the effect of expanded employer access to criminal history data on the labor market outcomes of ex-offenders and non-offenders. Employers express a strong aversion to hiring ex-offenders, but there is likely asymmetric information about criminal records. Wider availability of criminal history records should adversely affect the labor market outcomes of ex-offenders. A model of statistical discrimination also predicts that non-offenders from groups with high rates of criminal offense should have improved labor market outcomes when criminal history records become more accessible. This paper tests these hypotheses with criminal and labor market histories from the 1997 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. I find evidence that labor market outcomes are worse for ex-offenders once state criminal history records become available over the Internet, and somewhat weaker evidence that outcomes are better for nonoffenders from highly offending groups. Results for ex-offenders demonstrate the presence of imperfect information about criminal records by employers. The non-offender results are consistent with statistical discrimination by employers. Estimates may be confounded by a short sample period and ongoing human capital investments, but the research design provides a unique setting for testing theories of statistical discrimination.
Bibliography Citation
Finlay, Keith. "Effect of Employer Access to Criminal History Data on the Labor Market Outcomes of Ex-Offenders and Non-Offenders." Presented: Washington, DC, Bureau of Labor Statistics Conference Center, NLSY97 Tenth Anniversary Conference, May 29-30, 2008.
4. Finlay, Keith
Stigma in the Labor Market: Evidence from Juveniles Transferred to Adult Court and Occupations with Mandated Criminal Background Checks
Presented: San Diego CA, American Economic Association Annual Meeting, January 2013
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: American Economic Association
Keyword(s): Criminal Justice System; Discrimination; Discrimination, Job; Incarceration/Jail; Labor Market Outcomes

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

At the end of 2011, almost seven million US residents were under the supervision of the correction system. An unknown but significantly larger number of people has at some point been under the supervision of the correction system. As ex-offenders are released, they face the challenge of reentering the labor market. This paper examines a broad set of policies that influence whether an individual’s criminal history record is observed by a potential employer. Using the first fourteen waves of the NLSY97, there is evidence that labor market outcomes are worse for ex-offenders when their criminal histories are easily accessible to employers. Non-offenders from highly offending groups have significantly better labor market outcomes in the presence of open records. The net effect of open information supports the notion that employers statistically discriminate in the absence of criminal history data.
Bibliography Citation
Finlay, Keith. "Stigma in the Labor Market: Evidence from Juveniles Transferred to Adult Court and Occupations with Mandated Criminal Background Checks." Presented: San Diego CA, American Economic Association Annual Meeting, January 2013.