TY - JOUR
T1 - From Prison to Entrepreneurship
T2 - Can Entrepreneurship be a Reentry Strategy for Justice-Impacted Individuals?
AU - Hwang, Kylie Jiwon
N1 - Funding Information:
NOTE: This research is generously supported by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, REFORM Alliance, and Columbia Justice Lab at Columbia University. The author thanks Bruce Western, David Harding, and Jasmin Sandelson for their comments and suggestions. The contents of this article are solely the responsibility of the author.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by The American Academy of Political and Social Science.
PY - 2022/5
Y1 - 2022/5
N2 - Justice-impacted people face significant obstacles to employment. This article explores an alternative pathway for these individuals to find work and income: entrepreneurship. While anecdotal evidence suggests that entrepreneurship is common among people with criminal histories, it remains both theoretically and empirically underexamined. I conduct a synthesis of recent research to assess the viability of entrepreneurship as a path to reintegration for returning citizens. I highlight findings on the prevalence of entrepreneurial entry, the underlying mechanism behind entrepreneurship, the economic and social consequences of entrepreneurship, and the barriers and challenges that reentering entrepreneurs face. Finally, I draw attention to key policy implications and suggest new initiatives that can help enhance the viability of entrepreneurship as a reentry strategy for justice-involved individuals.
AB - Justice-impacted people face significant obstacles to employment. This article explores an alternative pathway for these individuals to find work and income: entrepreneurship. While anecdotal evidence suggests that entrepreneurship is common among people with criminal histories, it remains both theoretically and empirically underexamined. I conduct a synthesis of recent research to assess the viability of entrepreneurship as a path to reintegration for returning citizens. I highlight findings on the prevalence of entrepreneurial entry, the underlying mechanism behind entrepreneurship, the economic and social consequences of entrepreneurship, and the barriers and challenges that reentering entrepreneurs face. Finally, I draw attention to key policy implications and suggest new initiatives that can help enhance the viability of entrepreneurship as a reentry strategy for justice-involved individuals.
KW - entrepreneurship
KW - justice-impacted individuals
KW - labor market discrimination
KW - policy implications
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U2 - 10.1177/00027162221115378
DO - 10.1177/00027162221115378
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85138671142
SN - 0002-7162
VL - 701
SP - 114
EP - 133
JO - Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
JF - Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
IS - 1
ER -
