The Racialized Consequences of Jail Incarceration on Local Labor Markets.

This article examines how county-level jail incarceration rates in the United States between 2007 and 2017 affect local employment rates, with a focus on racial dynamics in urban counties. Using a System Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) dynamic panel model and stratifying counties by the percentage of Black residents aged 15 to 64, the study finds a significant negative relationship between jail admissions and employment rates in urban counties with the highest proportions of Black residents, while urban counties with lower percentages of Black residents show a positive relationship. These findings suggest that jail incarceration functions as a racialized labor market institution that contributes to economic marginalization in predominantly Black urban communities, consistent with theories of racial threat, systemic racism, and racialized vicarious stigma. The study highlights policy implications for bail reform and jail decarceration, emphasizing the complex economic and social costs of incarceration in racially stratified local labor markets.