Why Do So Many Young American Men Commit Crimes and What Might We Do About It? / Richard B. Freeman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Freeman, Richard B.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w5451.

NBER working paper series no. w5451

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Juvenile delinquency--Prevention.

Juvenile delinquency.

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 1996.

Cambridge, Massachussetts : National Bureau of Economic Research, [1996]

Summary:

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 have plummeted. It didn't. Evidence suggests that the depressed labor market for low skill American workers contributed to the continued high level of crime by less educated men, despite incapacitation and the deterrent effect of imprisonment. The costs of incarceration are such that even marginally effective prevention policies can be socially desirable.

Notes:

Print version record

February 1996.