Ban the Box, Criminal Records, and Statistical Discrimination: A Field Experiment

Abstract

Ban-the-Box" (BTB) policies restrict employers from asking about applicants' criminal histories on job applications and are often presented as a means of reducing unemployment among black men, who disproportionately have criminal records. However, withholding information about criminal records could risk encouraging statistical discrimination: employers may make assumptions about criminality based on the applicant's race (or other observable characteristics). To investigate BTB's effects, we sent approximately 15,000 fictitious online job applications to employers in New Jersey and New York City both before and after the adoption of BTB policies. These applications varied the race and felony conviction status of the applicants. We confirm that criminal records are a major barrier to employment: employers that ask about criminal records were 63% more likely to call back an applicant if he has no record. However, our results support the concern that BTB policies encourage statistical discrimination on the basis of race: we find that the race gap in callbacks grows dramatically at the BTB-affected companies after the policy goes into effect. Before BTB, white applicants to employers with the box received 7% more callbacks than similar black applicants, but BTB increases this gap to 45%.

The Effects of Pre-Trial Detention on Conviction, Future Crime, and Employment: Evidence from Randomly Assigned Judges

“…By the third to fourth years after the bail hearing, our employment estimates are entirely driven by the joint probability of having no criminal conviction and being employed. These results are consistent with the stigma of a criminal conviction lowering defendants' prospects in the formal labor market (e.g., Pager 2003, Agan andStarr 2016), which in turn limits defendants' eligibility for employment-related benefits like UI and EITC. In contrast, we find no evidence that our labor market results can be explained by changes in job stability or by any incapacitation effects.…”

“…Second, pretrial release might affect outcomes because detention is highly disruptive to defendants' lives, potentially leading to job loss which makes it harder for defendants to find new employment. Finally, pretrial detention could independently lower future employment prospects through the stigma of a criminal conviction (e.g., Pager 2003, Agan andStarr 2016), which could in turn limit defendants' eligibility for employment-related benefits like UI and EITC.…”

Structural racism in the workplace: Does perception matter for health inequalities?

“…Identical resume studies suggests that individuals with “Black” sounding names receive fewer callbacks for interviews and are rated as less qualified than resumes with “White” sounding names (Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2004; Kang, DeCelles, Tilcsik, & Jun, 2016). Additionally, new restrictions on formerly-incarcerated persons also limit opportunities for hiring—a restriction that disproportionality impacts Blacks (Agan & Starr, 2016). Across occupations and industries, Blacks also confront racial stereotypes and biases regarding their intelligence.…”

How Do Employers Use Compensation History?: Evidence from a Field Experiment

“…To test the effects of a "ban the box" imposition, Agan and Starr (2016) use applicant callback rates of fictitious applications sent before and after a "ban the box" policy went into effect. They find evidence that the policy caused signal substitution, with employers giving black applicants lower call-back rates after they could no longer directly screen on criminal records.…”

“…As is common in this literature, the focus is on signal substitution as evinced by compositional changes in who is hired, or receives a call-back (in the case of Agan and Starr (2016)). …”