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Money, Work, and Crime

Experimental Evidence

1st Edition - January 28, 1980

Authors: Peter H. Rossi, Richard A. Berk, Kenneth J. Lenihan

eBook ISBN:

9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 6 5 8 0 - 3

Money, Work, and Crime: Experimental Evidence presents the complete details of the Department of Labor’s $3.4 million Transitional Aid Research Project (TARP), a large-scale field… Read more

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Money, Work, and Crime: Experimental Evidence presents the complete details of the Department of Labor’s $3.4 million Transitional Aid Research Project (TARP), a large-scale field experiment which attempted to reduce recidivism on the part of ex-felons. Beginning in January 1976, some prisoners released from state institutions in Texas and Georgia were offered financial aid for periods of up to six months post-release. Payments were made in the form of Unemployment Insurance benefits. The ex-prisoners who were eligible for payments were compared with control groups released at the same time from the same institutions. The control groups were not eligible for benefits. The assumption that modest levels of financial help would ease the transition from prison life to civilian life was partially supported. Ex-prisoners who received financial aid under TARP had lower rearrest rates than their counterparts who did not receive benefits and worked comparable periods of time. Those receiving financial aid were also able to obtain better-paying jobs than the controls. However, ex-prisoners receiving benefits took longer to find jobs than those who did not receive benefits. The TARP experiment makes a strong contribution both to an important policy area—the reduction of crime through reducing recidivism—and to the further development of the field and experiment as a policy research instrument.

List of FiguresList of TablesPrefaceAcknowledgmentsI The Transitional Aid Research Project Experiments: Background, Design, and Outcomes 1 An Overview Introduction The Social Problem Adjustment Problems of Released Prisoners The Transitional Aid Research Project 2 Historical Background of the Transitional Aid Research Project Experiments Origins of TARP The Baltimore LIFE Project From the LIFE Project to TARP 3 Design of the Transitional Aid Research Project Experiments Introduction Early Design Considerations Implementing the Experiment Estimating the Efficiency of the TARP Experiments Work Disincentives Geographic Coverage Assignment to Experimental and Control Groups State Administrative Arrangements for TARP Recruitment of TARP Participants Analysis of TARP Data Files Other Related Research Conducted under TARP 4 Implementation of Transitional Aid Research Project Experimental Design Introduction Randomization Success The Georgia Commutation Order The Experimental Treatments and Their Delivery TARP Costs Some Conclusions Concerning Implementation 5 TARP Outcomes: Effectiveness Masked by Unanticipated Side-Effects Introduction Overall Experimental Outcomes Why Did TARP Appear to Fail? An Array of Possible Explanations A Conceptual Reinterpretation of the TARP Experiments Testing the TARP Counterbalancing Model Policy Implications of the LIFE and TARP ProjectsII Ex-Prisoners and Their Postprison Experiences 6 The World of Ex-Prisoners An Overview of Part II A Technical Note 7 Participants in the Transitional Aid Research Project Introduction Age and Sex Race and Ethnic Compositions Family Backgrounds of TARP Participants Educational Attainment and IQ Preimprisonment Work Experiences Family Arrangements of TARP Participants at Arrest and on Release Previous Criminal Records of TARP Participants Offenses of Conviction Continuing Ties: Parole and Discharge Gate Money at Release Epilogue 8 Postrelease Social and Psychological Adjustment Patterns Introduction Postrelease Marital Status and Living Arrangements Illness and Hospitalization Self-Assessments of Adjustment Adjustment in the Postrelease Year 9 Employment and Earnings Introduction Finding a Job Earnings from Employment Employment and Earnings Conditional on Work Control Groups: Determinants of Employment Some Conclusions 10 Arrests and Arrest Charges Introduction Arrest Rates Arrest Charges Some Observations on RearrestIII Modeling and Estimating the Effects of the Transitional Aid Research Project 11 Model of the Effects of the Transitional Aid Research Project: Theoretical Foundations Introduction The Theoretical Foundations of the TARP Model The Specification of the Nonrecursive TARP Model Some Complications and Caveats Estimation Procedures 12 Estimating Transitional Aid Research Project Models for Texas and Georgia Introduction TARP Results in Texas Georgia TARP Results Some Conclusions 13 Transitional Aid Research Project Payments, Job Search, and Weekly Wages Introduction Texas Wage Analysis Georgia Wage Analysis ConclusionsIV Conclusions 14 The Policy Implications of the Transitional Aid Research Project Introduction The Employment Strategy Effective Transitional Financial Aid Strategies A Call for Additional ResearchV Appendices A Data and Instruments B "Nobody Knows the Troubles I've Seen": Postrelease Burdens on the Families of Transitional Aid Research Project The Significant Woman Substudy Characterizing the Significant Women "Objective" Financial Drain on Household Resources From the Subjective Side What Does the Satisfaction Index Mean? Determinants of Satisfaction Determinants of Financial Impact Conclusions C Women Ex-Offenders in the TARP Experiment Introduction Characteristics of TARP Women: Prerelease and Postrelease Replication of the Counterbalancing Model Reduced Form Results Structural Equation Results for TARP Money Received Structural Form Equation for the Number of Economic Arrests Structural Form Results for the Number of Weeks Employed Structural Equation Results for the Number of Weeks in Jail or Prison Conclusion