Data and Code for: Law-Abiding Immigrants: The Incarceration Gap Between Immigrants and the US-born, 1870–2020

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Ran Abramitzky, Stanford University; Leah Boustan, Princeton University; Elisa Jacome, Northwestern University; Santiago Perez, University of California-Davis; Juan David Torres, Stanford University

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
  Analysis 01/27/2024 09:25:PM
  build 01/27/2024 09:25:PM
  logs 01/27/2024 09:25:PM
Readme_ABJPT.pdf application/pdf 207.3 KB 05/23/2024 07:25:AM
master_all.do text/plain 3 KB 01/27/2024 04:25:PM
master_analysis.do text/plain 4.6 KB 01/27/2024 04:25:PM
master_nber_server.do text/plain 1.5 KB 01/28/2024 04:41:PM
master_process_local.do text/plain 1.1 KB 01/27/2024 04:25:PM

Project Citation: 

Abramitzky, Ran, Boustan, Leah, Jacome, Elisa, Perez, Santiago, and Torres, Juan David. Data and Code for: Law-Abiding Immigrants: The Incarceration Gap Between Immigrants and the US-born, 1870–2020. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2024. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-11-07. https://doi.org/10.3886/E197981V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary We provide the first nationally representative long-run series (1870–2020) of incarceration rates for immigrants and the US-born. As a group, immigrants have had lower incarceration rates than the US-born for 150 years. Moreover, relative to the US-born, immigrants’ incarceration rates have declined since 1960: immigrants today are 60% less likely to be incarcerated (30% relative to US-born whites). This relative decline occurred among immigrants from all regions and cannot be explained by changes in immigrants’ observable characteristics or immigration policy. Instead, the decline is part of a broader divergence of outcomes between less-educated immigrants and their US-born counterparts.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms immigration; incarceration; deportation
JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      K40 Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior: General
      N31 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage United States
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 1870 – 2020
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) census/enumeration data; geographic information system (GIS) data; survey data

Methodology

Data Source:  View help for Data Source US Population Censuses: 1870-2000
American Community Survey: 2001-2019
General Social Survey: 1977–2021
National Corrections Reporting Program: 1991-2010 
Unit(s) of Observation:  View help for Unit(s) of Observation Individuals

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Published Versions

V1 [2024-11-07]

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