Nevin Shetty's powerful and skillfully woven debut,
Second Chance Economics, makes a data-driven case for a new economic engine, as told through the crisis of mass incarceration and the millions of underemployed justice-impacted Americans.
In the United States, an astounding 77 million Americans have a criminal record. It is a systemic crisis with profound economic consequences, creating lifelong collateral consequences not only for individuals but for the national economy. Justice-impacted people face nearly insurmountable barriers to gainful employment, which fuels a recidivism rate of 71% within five years of release. Using in-depth analysis, Shetty reveals the cost of our criminal justice system is $1.2 trillion every single year.
This book is not about criminal justice reform. This book is about unlocking economic prosperity at the individual, community and national level. Shetty's evidence seamlessly integrates the visceral realities of hiring managers and the triumphs of forward-thinking companies that have successfully utilized this talent pool. Through the stories of data-whether from corporate case studies or cost-benefit analyses-he demonstrates powerful lessons about how second chance hiring can reduce labor gaps, lower turnover costs, and unlock a virtuous cycle of economic growth.
Told in rigorous, data-driven prose, Second Chance Economics uncovers the nature of waste, potential, and profit, and how instruments of change come from the unlikeliest of places.
