NCJ Number
163139
Journal
Journal of Economic Perspectives Volume: 10 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1996) Pages: 25-42
Date Published
1996
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This essay attempts to determine why so many young American men engage in crime and suggests remedies.
Abstract
Participation in crime and involvement with the criminal justice system has reached such levels as to become part of normal economic life for many young men, particularly less- educated and black men. This essay contains evidence that labor market incentives influence the level of crime and argues that the depressed labor market for less-skilled men in the 1980s and 1990s has contributed to the rise in criminal activity by less- skilled men. Data are presented in the following subject areas: Magnitudes of Criminal Involvement; Trends in Criminal Participation; Labor Market Causes of Crime; The Relative Rewards of Crime; Responses to the Return to Crime; and Crime, Incarceration and Economic Life. Increased resources for police to prevent crime, incarceration of criminals during their most crime-intensive years, and increased legitimate opportunities for the less-skilled would seem to offer a way to deter at least some young men from committing crimes. Footnotes, figure, tables, references