Much work on crime has focused on the effect of criminal sanctions on crime, ignoring (except as a control variable …) the effect of labor market conditions on crime. This study reviews studies of time series, cross area, and individual … evidence pertaining to the effect of unemployment and other labor market variables on crime and compares the "strength" of the …

This paper shows that participation in crime and involvement with the criminal justice system has reached extraordinary … levels among young men. With approximately 2 percent as many men incarcerated as in the labor force, the crime rate should … the continued high level of crime by less educated men, despite incapacitation and the deterrent effect of imprisonment …

This paper presents evidence on the relation among incarceration, crime, and the economic incentives to crime, ranging … have reduced the rate of crime, through the incapacitation of criminals and through the deterrent effect of potential … arrest and imprisonment. But administrative records show no such drop in crime and the victims survey shows a fall far below …

entire decade. The magnitudes of incarceration, probation, and parole among black dropouts, in particular, suggest that crime …. Limited evidence on the returns to crime suggest that with the decline in earnings and employment for less educated young men …, crime offers an increasingly attractive alternative …