Crime Scars: Recessions and the Making of Career Criminals

Brian Bell, Anna Bindler and Stephen Machin

No 8332, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Recessions lead to short-term job loss, lower levels of happiness and decreasing income levels. There is growing evidence that workers who first join the labour market during economic downturns suffer from poor job matches that have a sustained detrimental effect on their wages and career progression. This paper uses a range of US and UK data to document a more disturbing long-run effect of recessions: young people who leave school in the midst of recessions are significantly more likely to lead a life of crime than those graduating into a buoyant labour market. These effects are long lasting and substantial.

Keywords: crime; recessions; unemployment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J64 K42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 50 pages
Date: 2014-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hap and nep-law
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

Published - published in: Review of Economics and Statistics, 2018, 100, 392-404

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https://docs.iza.org/dp8332.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Crime Scars: Recessions and the Making of Career Criminals (2018)
Working Paper: Crime scars: recessions and the making of career criminals (2018)
Working Paper: Crime Scars: Recessions and the Making of Career Criminals (2015)
Working Paper: Crime Scars: Recessions and the Making of Career Criminals (2014)
Working Paper: Crime scars: recessions and the making of career criminals (2014)
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