Research Proposal: Using Indian/Bangladeshi Model of Micro Financing to Develop Entrepreneurship Amongst U.S. Prisoners Re-Entering the Community
Using Indian/Bangladeshi Model of Micro Financing to Develop Entrepreneurship amongst U.S. Prisoners Re-entering the Community
Dylan Hood, Sophia Loupakos, Mary Kate Wagner
Loyola University Chicago
Introduction
At the end of calendar year, it is expected that the adult prison population in Illinois will be 35.1% over rated capacity, totaling 47,054 inmates in a correctional system with a rated capacity of 32,609. There also exist 51.1 percent recidivism rates. One of the factors contributing to recidivism has been the lack of employment opportunities faced by those that have been incarcerated.
Regarding employment, a criminal past is most certainly a factor for employers in determining whether a candidate receives a callback or not. Research also suggests that when race becomes a factor, the outcome of employment becomes more prevalent. Findings have shown that while the ratio of employment callbacks for non-offenders relative to ex-offenders for whites is 2:1, the same ratio for blacks is nearly 3:1 and when compared together, the effect of having a criminal record is thus 40% larger for blacks than whites.
Micro Loans / Micro Finance are general terms used to describe financial services to low-income individuals who do not have access to typical banking serves. Popularized in Bangladesh in 1976 with the establishment of the Grameen Bank by Mohammed Yunus, they served as method of delivering credit to the rural poor. Today micro-loans are changing lives of individuals and entire communities in many lesser-developed nations than the United States. While these same micro-lending institutions are at work in the U.S., there is evidence that their presence with the ex-offender population needs to expand.
One of the main aims of this research will be to travel directly to the source of micro-lending in Bangladesh and India, and to observe first hand how the system of lending works there, compare it with the existing models here in the
Dylan Hood, Sophia Loupakos, Mary Kate Wagner
Loyola University Chicago
Introduction
At the end of calendar year, it is expected that the adult prison population in Illinois will be 35.1% over rated capacity, totaling 47,054 inmates in a correctional system with a rated capacity of 32,609. There also exist 51.1 percent recidivism rates. One of the factors contributing to recidivism has been the lack of employment opportunities faced by those that have been incarcerated.
Regarding employment, a criminal past is most certainly a factor for employers in determining whether a candidate receives a callback or not. Research also suggests that when race becomes a factor, the outcome of employment becomes more prevalent. Findings have shown that while the ratio of employment callbacks for non-offenders relative to ex-offenders for whites is 2:1, the same ratio for blacks is nearly 3:1 and when compared together, the effect of having a criminal record is thus 40% larger for blacks than whites.
Micro Loans / Micro Finance are general terms used to describe financial services to low-income individuals who do not have access to typical banking serves. Popularized in Bangladesh in 1976 with the establishment of the Grameen Bank by Mohammed Yunus, they served as method of delivering credit to the rural poor. Today micro-loans are changing lives of individuals and entire communities in many lesser-developed nations than the United States. While these same micro-lending institutions are at work in the U.S., there is evidence that their presence with the ex-offender population needs to expand.
One of the main aims of this research will be to travel directly to the source of micro-lending in Bangladesh and India, and to observe first hand how the system of lending works there, compare it with the existing models here in the