“I’LL TAKE WHAT SHE GETS”: Money Management and Decision Making in Ex-Offender Households

Abstract

1970’s, there is a growing body of literature that addresses the impact of incarceration on the lives of ex-offenders after their release. This study, using the unique Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study data set, is the first in the literature to address the impact of incarceration on money management within ex-offender households. The study first develops a theory of allocative system selection based in part on the relationship between prior incarceration and trust. It then uses a multi-method design to investigate the validity of this theoretical framework within the data. Ultimately, the study finds that families with exoffender fathers are more likely to assign control to the mother, while their decision to pool incomes is unaffected by prior incarceration. Based on informal interviews with 12 exoffenders, the study then proposes an explanatory mechanism involving the deterioration of decision-making capital due to incarceration