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The Effect of Employment Frictions on Crime

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  • Bryan Engelhardt

Abstract

This article provides estimates on how long it takes for released inmates to find a job and, when they find a job, how less likely they are to be incarcerated. An on-the-job search model with crime is used to model criminal behavior, derive the estimation method, and analyze policies including a job placement program. The results show that the unemployed are incarcerated twice as fast as the employed and take on average 6 months to find a job. The article demonstrates that reducing the average unemployment spell of previously incarcerated criminals by 3 months reduces crime and recidivism by more than 5%. (c) 2010 by The University of Chicago.

Suggested Citation

  • Bryan Engelhardt, 2010. "The Effect of Employment Frictions on Crime," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 28(3), pages 677-718, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:v:28:y:2010:i:3:p:677-718
    DOI: 10.1086/651541
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    Cited by:

    1. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Asante, Augustine, 2023. "Neighbourhood crime and obesity: Longitudinal evidence from Australia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 337(C).
    2. Roberto Galbiati & Aurélie Ouss & Arnaud Philippe, 2021. "Jobs, News and Reoffending after Incarceration [Examining the generality of the unemployment–crime association]," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(633), pages 247-270.
    3. Altindag, Duha T., 2012. "Crime and unemployment: Evidence from Europe," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 145-157.
    4. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/6lb0bbni2p86t8ib82gjce1ok1 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Bulent Guler & Amanda M. Michaud, 2024. "Dynamics of Deterrence: A Macroeconomic Perspective on Punitive Justice Policy," Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute Working Papers 101, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    6. Espinosa, Romain & DeAngelo, Gregory & Deffains, Bruno & Mungan, Murat & Romaniuc, Rustam, 2021. "The price of expungements," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    7. Long, Iain W. & Polito, Vito, 2014. "Unemployment, Crime and Social Insurance," Cardiff Economics Working Papers E2014/9, Cardiff University, Cardiff Business School, Economics Section.
    8. Masciandaro, Donato & Passarelli, Francesco, 2013. "Financial systemic risk: Taxation or regulation?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 587-596.
    9. King Yoong Lim & Pengfei Jia, 2019. "Police spending and economic stabilization in a monetary economy with crime and differential human capital," NBS Discussion Papers in Economics 2019/02, Economics, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University.
    10. Nicolás Grau & Gonzalo Marivil & Jorge Rivera, 2019. "The Effect of Pretrial Detention on Labor Market Outcomes," Working Papers wp488, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
    11. Compton, Andrew, 2019. "Decomposing the Societal Opportunity Costs of Property Crime," MPRA Paper 97002, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Shiyun Zhang, 2022. "Immigration and Crime in Frictional Labor Markets," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 44, pages 152-183, April.
    13. Braun, Christine & Engelhardt, Bryan & Griffy, Benjamin & Rupert, Peter, 2020. "Testing the independence of job arrival rates and wage offers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    14. Leighton Vaughan Williams & Chunping Liu & Hannah Gerrard, 2019. "How well do Elo-based ratings predict professional tennis matches?," NBS Discussion Papers in Economics 2019/03, Economics, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University.
    15. Pengfei Jia & King Yoong Lim & Ali Raza, 2020. "Crime, different taxation, police spending and embodied human capital," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 88(5), pages 664-698, September.
    16. Pengfei Jia & King Yoong Lim, 2021. "The stabilization role of police spending in a neo‐Keynesian economy with credit market imperfections," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 68(1), pages 103-125, February.
    17. Manash Ranjan Gupta & Priya Brata Dutta, 2024. "Crime, efficiency of labour and trade: a theoretical analysis," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 105-136, June.
    18. King Yoong Lim & Pengfei Jia & Ali Raza, 2018. "Crime, Human Capital, and the Impact of Different Taxation," Working Papers 220851234, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    19. Siwach, Garima, 2018. "Unemployment shocks for individuals on the margin: Exploring recidivism effects," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 231-244.
    20. Leong, Kaiwen & Li, Huailu & Xu, Haibo, 2018. "Exploiting the Unbanked: Evidence from Singapore's Unlicensed Moneylending Market," IZA Discussion Papers 11786, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    21. Yuki Otsu, 2016. "Crime, Search, and Ex-offenders’ Accessibility to Labor Markets," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 30(4), pages 393-414, December.
    22. M. Antonella Mancino, 2022. "A Search Model Of Early Employment Careers And Youth Crime," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 63(1), pages 329-390, February.
    23. Engelhardt, Bryan & Rupert, Peter, 2017. "Competitive versus random search with bargaining: An empirical comparison," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 183-197.
    24. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/6lb0bbni2p86t8ib82gjce1ok1 is not listed on IDEAS

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