Research seminar: Shared Punishment: The Impact of Incarcerating Fathers on Child Outcomes

Emily Nix, University of Southern California

https://sites.google.com/site/emilyenix/

 

Shared Punishment: The Impact of Incarcerating Fathers on Child Outcomes  

Abstract: Around the world, the fathers of millions of children are in prison. Yet despite the large number of children affected, we know very little about the impact of incarcerating fathers on child outcomes. In this paper, we link rich data in Finland on parental criminal activity to child outcomes. We use the data, along with randomized assignment to judges as an instrument, to provide causal evidence on the impact of incarcerating fathers on children. We analyze the impact from birth through early adulthood on a variety of outcomes, including schooling, wages, and criminal activity of the children. We find that incarceration has negative impacts on father's incomes and employment, but the impact on children is more nuanced. While OLS estimates including rich controls suggest negative impacts, causal estimates suggest no statistically significant impact of incarceration on early child outcomes or child criminal activity, but do suggest negative impacts on later outcomes such as labor force attachment and whether the child obtains a degree by age 19.