IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jcjust/v74y2021ics0047235221000350.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The role of employment as a mediator in correctional education's impact on recidivism: A quasi-experimental study of multiple programs

Author

Listed:
  • Walk, Dror
  • Haviv, Noam
  • Hasisi, Badi
  • Weisburd, David

Abstract

There is ample evidence that prison-based educational programs reduce the rate of recidivism among formerly incarcerated individuals and increase their employment prospects. However, little empirical research has focused on examining the mechanism that links correctional education with these two outcomes. Moreover, the versatile programs investigated to date make it difficult to distinguish between effective and less effective programs. Using propensity score matching, we compared post-release employment and recidivism among Israeli formerly incarcerated individuals who participated in four different education programs. Findings demonstrated two patterns: participants in the 12th grade and 8th grade programs showed better outcomes in both recidivism and employment than non-participants, whereas participants in the 10th grade and 6th grade programs only showed better employment outcomes. The mediating effect of employment on recidivism in the 12th grade and 8th grade programs demonstrated the dramatic role of employment in the desistance process. Our study suggests that education programs with more direct content or skills linked to employment would increase the overall impact of education on successful reentry.

Suggested Citation

  • Walk, Dror & Haviv, Noam & Hasisi, Badi & Weisburd, David, 2021. "The role of employment as a mediator in correctional education's impact on recidivism: A quasi-experimental study of multiple programs," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcjust:v:74:y:2021:i:c:s0047235221000350
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2021.101815
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047235221000350
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2021.101815?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sascha O. Becker & Marco Caliendo, 2007. "Sensitivity analysis for average treatment effects," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 7(1), pages 71-83, February.
    2. Ulrich Kohler & Kristian Bernt Karlson & Anders Holm, 2011. "Comparing coefficients of nested nonlinear probability models," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 11(3), pages 420-438, September.
    3. Arild Aakvik, 2001. "Bounding a Matching Estimator: The Case of a Norwegian Training Program," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 63(1), pages 115-143, February.
    4. Grogger, Jeff, 1998. "Market Wages and Youth Crime," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(4), pages 756-791, October.
    5. repec:pri:crcwel:wp06-01-ff is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Amanda Geller & Irwin Garfinkel & Bruce Western, 2006. "The Effects of Incarceration on Employment and Wages An Analysis of the Fragile Families Survey," Working Papers 932, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    7. Kim, Ryang Hui & Clark, David, 2013. "The effect of prison-based college education programs on recidivism: Propensity Score Matching approach," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 196-204.
    8. Ulrich Kohler, 2011. "Comparing coefficients between nested nonlinear probability models," German Stata Users' Group Meetings 2011 08, Stata Users Group.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Arnone, Massimo & Angelillis, Barbara & Costantiello, Alberto & Leogrande, Angelo, 2024. "Graduates, Training and Employment Across the Italian Regions," SocArXiv 8whf2, Center for Open Science.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stefanie Sperlich & Frauke-Marie Adler & Johannes Beller & Batoul Safieddine & Juliane Tetzlaff & Fabian Tetzlaff & Siegfried Geyer, 2022. "Getting Better or Getting Worse? A Population-Based Study on Trends in Self-Rated Health among Single Mothers in Germany between 1994 and 2018," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-13, February.
    2. Aiello, Francesco & Albanese, Giuseppe & Piselli, Paolo, 2019. "Good value for public money? The case of R&D policy," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 1057-1076.
    3. Xuezhen Xu & Fang Wang & Tao Xu & Sufyan Ullah Khan, 2023. "How Does Capital Endowment Impact Farmers’ Green Production Behavior? Perspectives on Ecological Cognition and Environmental Regulation," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-27, August.
    4. Bence Czafit & János Köllő, 2015. "Employment and wages before and after incarceration – evidence from Hungary," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-21, December.
    5. Samuel H. Fishman & S. Philip Morgan & Robert A. Hummer, 2018. "Smoking and Variation in the Hispanic Paradox: A Comparison of Low Birthweight Across 33 US States," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 37(5), pages 795-824, October.
    6. Zajacova, Anna & Montez, Jennifer Karas, 2018. "Explaining the increasing disability prevalence among mid-life US adults, 2002 to 2016," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 1-8.
    7. Averett, Susan L. & Smith, Julie K., 2014. "Financial hardship and obesity," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 15(C), pages 201-212.
    8. Paudel, Jayash & de Araujo, Pedro, 2017. "Demographic responses to a political transformation: Evidence of women’s empowerment from Nepal," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 325-343.
    9. Myrskylä, Mikko & Elo, Irma T. & Kohler, Iliana V. & Martikainen, Pekka, 2014. "The association between advanced maternal and paternal ages and increased adult mortality is explained by early parental loss," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 215-223.
    10. Githiomi, Caroline & Muriithi, Beatrice & Irungu, Patrick & Mwungu, Chris M. & Diiro, Gracious & Affognon, Hippolyte & Mburu, John & Ekesi, Sunday, 2019. "Economic analysis of spillover effects of an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy for suppression of mango fruit fly in Kenya," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 121-132.
    11. Watson, Barry & Kong, Nancy & Phipps, Shelley, 2022. "Dreaming of a Brighter Future? The Impact of Economic Vulnerability on University Aspirations," IZA Discussion Papers 15539, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Li, Fanlue & He, Ke & Wang, Yuejie & Zhang, Junbiao, 2021. "Does Indoor Air Pollution from Solid Fuels Influence the Mental Health of Rural Residents? Evidence from China," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315024, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. Han, Yang & Wei, Jianwen & Zhao, Yandong, 2021. "Long-term effects of housing damage on survivors’ health in rural China: Evidence from a survey 10 Years after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    14. Kóczán, Zs., 2024. "Lasting scars: The long-term effects of school closures on earnings," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    15. Sinha, Aakanksha & McRoy, Ruth G. & Berkman, Barbara & Sutherland, Melissa, 2017. "Drivers of change: Examining the effects of gender equality on child nutrition," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 203-212.
    16. Yang, Shuai & Wang, Yan & Lu, Yuan & Zhang, Hanhan & Wang, Feng & Liu, Zhijun, 2023. "Long-term effects of the left-behind experience on health and its mechanisms: Empirical evidence from China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 338(C).
    17. Gaigne, Carl & Latouche, Karine & Turolla, Stephane, 2012. "Vertical Ownership and Trade: Firm-level evidence from France," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 125020, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    18. Thorsten Kneip & Gerrit Bauer & Steffen Reinhold, 2014. "Direct and Indirect Effects of Unilateral Divorce Law on Marital Stability," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(6), pages 2103-2126, December.
    19. Marja Eliisa Holm & Päivi Sainio & Jaana Suvisaari & Katri Sääksjärvi & Tuija Jääskeläinen & Suvi Parikka & Seppo Koskinen, 2022. "Differences in Unfavorable Lifestyle Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic between People with and without Disabilities in Finland: Psychological Distress as a Mediator," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-15, June.
    20. Vinnerljung, Bo & Brännström, Lars & Hjern, Anders, 2015. "Disability pension among adult former child welfare clients: A Swedish national cohort study," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 169-176.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jcjust:v:74:y:2021:i:c:s0047235221000350. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jcrimjus .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.