The Unintended Consequences of “Ban the Box”: Statistical Discrimination and Employment Outcomes...

Ban the Box policies may reduce employment for young Black and Hispanic men with no college degree. This study utilizes Current Population Survey data between 2004 and 2014 to analyze the racial impacts of Ban the Box policies on hiring practices across the United States. They find find that BTB policies decrease the probability of being employed by (5.1%) for young, Black men, and by 2.9% for young Hispanic men. The authors argue that these findings support the hypothesis that when an applicant’s criminal history is unavailable, employers statistically discriminate against demographic groups that include more ex-offenders. See Noah Zatz 2016, "The Unintended Consequences of “Ban the Box”: Statistical Discrimination and Employment Outcomes When Criminal Histories Are Hidden" for a response to this argument.

Doleac, J. L., & Hansen, B. (2019). The Unintended Consequences of “Ban the Box”: Statistical Discrimination and Employment Outcomes When Criminal Histories Are Hidden. Journal of Labor Economics, 38(2), 321–374. https://doi.org/10.1086/705880

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Open Access Source: https://booksc.org/book/72712106/74a7ad