Data Source: Reich, A.D. & Prins, S.J. (2020). The disciplining effect of mass incarceration on labor organization. American Journal of Sociology, 125(5), 1303-1344. https://doi.org/10.1086/709016. (Graph: Wendy Sawyer, 2024)
This graph originally appeared in 10 ways that mass incarceration is an engine of economic injustice.
Incarceration erodes a worker’s ability to quit — an important measure of worker power. Additionally, formerly incarcerated workers have lost their say in which jobs they accept: while “before prison” workers can exhibit a preference for more satisfying jobs, “after prison” workers have to accept high- and low-satisfaction jobs at similar rates.
Events
- March 19, 2025:
Join Prison Policy Initiative’s Advocacy Department at 1 PM EST on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, for a webinar about understanding recidivism. We will cover strategies from our recidivism toolkit, including an overview of recidivism statistics and what they really mean, how to combat the “Willie Horton” effect, and ways that advocates can transform the narrative around reentry to make it less focused on negative outcomes and more focused on the ways that returning citizens contribute to their communities.
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