Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

This paper reviews the stylized facts about black incarceration rates from 1970 to the present and explores the variety of explanations for the growth in black imprisonment. Two specific empirical tests are conducted in this review. One is a test of the hypothesis that there is an efficiency justification for the racial differential in imprisonment. Using decades-old federal prison data I show the existence of substantial racial discrimination in sentencing that cannot be attributable to racial differences in anticipated recidivism rates. A second test examines the hypothesis that the rise in racial disparities in incarceration is due to increases in arrests for drugs. Surprisingly and quite contrary to popular opinion, I find that increased arrests for drugs had a larger impact on white arrests than on black arrests. The paper then summarizes some of the consequences of the huge racial disparity in incarceration and suggests implications for future research.