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Milwaukee’s Disregarded Population

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  • Lenard Wells

Abstract

The research was a partial replication of Devah Pager’s study of the effect of a criminal record on employment opportunities in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin labor market. A quantitative and qualitative method was utilized to examine the effects of a criminal record, race, and the relationship between employers’ willingness to hire ex-offenders and their actual hiring of ex-offenders. An experimental audit was conducted by two testers (one Black male and one White male) to audit 30 employers. The results supported Pager’s findings. There was a dramatic negative effect for the Black male tester. Three themes emerged from the testers’ diaries and debriefings: (a) the application process was influenced in the favor of the White male by a “gatekeeper,†(b) racism was evident, and (c) an emotional effect was noted on both testers. Finally, during a telephone survey of the same employers, they indicated a willingness to hire both ex-offenders regardless of their race, yet the audit revealed the opposite.

Suggested Citation

  • Lenard Wells, 2013. "Milwaukee’s Disregarded Population," SAGE Open, , vol. 3(3), pages 21582440135, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:3:y:2013:i:3:p:2158244013502491
    DOI: 10.1177/2158244013502491
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Devah Pager, 2003. "The mark of a criminal record," Natural Field Experiments 00319, The Field Experiments Website.
    2. Robynn Cox, 2010. "Crime, Incarceration, and Employment in Light of the Great Recession," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 37(3), pages 283-294, September.
    3. Nunley, John M. & Owens, Mark F. & Howard, R. Stephen, 2011. "The effects of information and competition on racial discrimination: Evidence from a field experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 80(3), pages 670-679.
    4. Frances McGinnity & Peter D. Lunn, 2011. "Measuring discrimination facing ethnic minority job applicants: an Irish experiment," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 25(4), pages 693-708, December.
    5. David Neumark, 2012. "Detecting Discrimination in Audit and Correspondence Studies," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 47(4), pages 1128-1157.
    6. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 991-1013, September.
    7. Kaas Leo & Manger Christian, 2012. "Ethnic Discrimination in Germany’s Labour Market: A Field Experiment," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 13(1), pages 1-20, February.
    8. Lonnie Stevans, 2009. "The Relationship Among African American Male Earnings, Employment, Incarceration and Immigration in the United States: A Time Series Approach," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 36(3), pages 151-160, December.
    9. Yinger, John, 1986. "Measuring Racial Discrimination with Fair Housing Audits: Caught in the Act," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(5), pages 881-893, December.
    10. Lisa Andersson & Niklas Jakobsson & Andreas Kotsadam, 2012. "A Field Experiment of Discrimination in the Norwegian Housing Market: Gender, Class, and Ethnicity," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 88(2), pages 233-240.
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