This talk will present results from a project on the effects of imprisonment, compared to probation, on crime, employment, and mortality. The study design is a natural experiment based on the random assignment of judges to criminal cases statewide in Michigan between 2003 and 2006. Findings reveal the sources of prison's revolving door, heterogeneity by race and work history in effects of imprisonment on employment, and countervailing effects of imprisonment on mortality.  

David J. Harding
Professor of Sociology
Faculty Director, Social Sciences D-Lab
University of California - Berkeley

http://sociology.berkeley.edu/faculty/david-j-harding