Abstract
No definitive evidence is available on the potential and re alized productive capacity of prison inmates. This paper uses Census data about labor force characteristics and produc tivity, and the educational and occupational backgrounds of inmates, to estimate total potential productivity. After adjust ing for race and sex, potential productivity in jails and pri sons is estimated at over $2.5-billion annually. The annual productivity of inmates in educational, training, industrial, and maintenance activities is then estimated at $1-billion or less. Even allowing for some slippage in the assumptions underlying the estimates, lost or wasted potential inmate pro ductivity exceeds $1-billion each year.
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