NCJ Number
176806
Date Published
1997
Length
52 pages
Annotation
To examine the effect of market wages on youth crime, this study used a time allocation model in which consumers faced parametric wages and diminishing marginal returns to crime.
Abstract
An annual measure of labor market supply was chosen, the number of hours worked in 1979, and an hourly wage was constructed by dividing 1979 earnings by 1979 hours. Three human capital measures were used in the analysis: years of education, high school graduation, and years of potential labor market experience. It was hypothesized that a consumer's criminal productivity would be determined by criminal human capital in a manner similar to the way market productivity would be affected by market human capital. Other study variables included the existence of a criminal family member, urban location, race, and ethnicity. The time allocation model was evaluated using data from the National Longitudinal Survey Youth Cohort. In estimating determinants of criminal returns and the wage responsiveness of criminal participation, the model showed the behavior of young men to be very responsive to price incentives. The researcher determined that falling real wages may have been an important determinant of rising youth crime over the past two decades and that wages represent an important component in explaining racial differences in criminal participation and the age distribution of crime. Implications of the findings are discussed in the context of economic theory and crime costs. Additional information on the study methodology and model equations are appended. 42 references, 9 tables, and 1 figure