Tracking Community-Level Dynamics Associated with Imprisonment and Enlistment

Amy K. Bailey, Princeton University
Devah Pager, Princeton University

Two major U.S. institutions are disproportionately responsible for state intrusion into the lives of young adult men from working class and disadvantaged backgrounds: the military and the criminal justice system. However, the two are rarely researched together, and little empirical work investigates their effects on “sending” communities. In this paper, we will track the community dynamics associated with institutionally-linked population removal. We will use the home addresses of new prisoners and military personnel to link individuals to their home communities, and track changes in those communities over a span of two decades (1990 – 2009). Our focus is on the identifying the social, demographic, and economic characteristics of neighborhoods that serve as population reservoirs for each of these institutions. We also plan to identify systematic variance between the trajectories of these communities and other neighborhoods with similar points of origin.