Working Paper: NBER ID: w12114
Authors: John H. Tyler; Jeffrey R. Kling
Abstract: We estimate the post-release economic effects of participation in prison-based General Educational Development (GED) programs using a panel of earnings records and a rich set of individual information from administrative data in the state of Florida. Fixed effects estimates of the impact of participating in the GED education program show post-release quarterly earnings gains of about 15 percent for program participants relative to observationally similar non-participants. We also show, however, that these earnings gains accrue only to racial/ethnic minority offenders and any GED-related earnings gains for this group seem to fade in the third year after release from prison. Estimates comparing offenders who obtained a GED to those who participated in GED-related prison education programs but left prison without a GED show no systematic evidence of an independent impact of the credential itself on post-release quarterly earnings.
Keywords: Prison education; GED; Labor market outcomes; Reentry
JEL Codes: J31; J38
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Participation in prison-based GED programs (I21) | Postrelease earnings gains (D33) |
| Obtaining GED credential (I21) | Postrelease earnings (G19) |
| Participation in GED programs (I24) | Postrelease earnings gains for minority offenders (J79) |
| Participation in GED programs (I24) | No measurable earnings benefits for white offenders (J79) |