Crime and the Labour Market: Evidence from a Survey of Inmates

Abstract

Die Dis cus si on Pape rs die nen einer mög lichst schnel len Ver brei tung von neue ren For schungs arbei ten des ZEW. Die Bei trä ge lie gen in allei ni ger Ver ant wor tung der Auto ren und stel len nicht not wen di ger wei se die Mei nung des ZEW dar.Dis cus si on Papers are inten ded to make results of ZEW research prompt ly avai la ble to other eco no mists in order to encou ra ge dis cus si on and sug gesti ons for revi si ons. The aut hors are sole ly respon si ble for the con tents which do not neces sa ri ly repre sent the opi ni on of the ZEW.Download this ZEW Discussion Paper from our ftp server:ftp://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp08131.pdf Nontechnical SummaryEconomists think that unemployment is an important cause for crime. From the theoretical point of view, this belief seems to be reasonable, since, according to the standard economic theory of crime by Nobel laureate Gary Becker , unemployed individuals are per definition excluded from legal income opportunities, and, thus, more likely to commit crimes than people who have a job. Empirical evidence is less clear. Econometric studies often show ambiguous signs for the effect of unemployment on crime. The main problem is the lack of adequate micro data. In this study based on a survey of 1,771 inmates conducted in 31 German prisons, the focus is on (expected) recidivism, not on criminal activity in general.Instead of re-contacting former inmates after their release (which would cause the problem of losing sight of most re-offending inmates), we interviewed prisoners about the perceived probability of their own future recidivism. Results show that inmates with poor labour market prospects expect a significantly higher rate of future recidivism. Having a closer look at subgroups of prisoners reveals that drug and alcohol addiction cause adverse effects. Thus, improving prisoner health care by installing effective anti-drug programmes would be one of the most effective measures against crime. Abstract: In this paper data from a survey of 1,771 inmates conducted in 31 German prisons provide microeconometric evidence on the relationship between individual anticipated labour market opportunities and the perceived probability of future recidivism. Results show that inmates with poor labour market prospects expect a significantly higher rate of future recidivism. Having a closer look at subgroups of prisoners reveals that drug and alcohol addiction cause adverse effects. Thus, improving prisoner health care by installing effective anti-drug programmes would be one of the most effective measures against crime. Nicht-technische Zusammenfassung

Economic Factors of Victimization: Evidence from Germany

“…The data have been collected in 2004 (conducted by TNS Infratest ) using a questionnaire on socioeconomic and parental backgrounds, education, professional experience, peers and social capital and criminal experience (both offending and victimization; see Table for descriptive statistics). The sample has originally been designed as a nationwide control group (of non‐imprisoned citizens) to the German Inmate Survey (see Entorf, ; Entorf et al ., , for details). Therefore, the survey is not a representative sample of the German resident population but a non‐imprisoned match of the German prison population.…”

Deterrence Theory in Paraguay: An Exploratory Study

“…In general, more legal income opportunities and better labor conditions may mitigate violent crimes by providing a more optimistic future perspective especially for young people (Entorf 2009;Fajnzylber et al 2002;Witte and Tauchen 1994). In fact, juvenile misconduct today can imply tomorrow's crime (Buonanno and Montolio 2008).…”

The Analysis of Prison-Prisoner Data Using Cluster-Sample Econometrics: Prison Conditions and Prisoners' Assessments of the Future

“…The prison-prisoner data we use was collected in the years 2003 to 2004 via an inmate survey, which was conducted in 31 prisons across Germany (for more information on the survey structure, see Entorf, Meyer andMoebert 2008, andEntorf 2009). The individual data provided by the survey has been previously used in Entorf (2012), who analyzed the tendency of young offenders to recidivate; Entorf (2009) explored the relation of the recidivism tendency to the conditions of the labor market, in which convicts find themselves after they are released from prison. Fortunately not only the individual-level information was gathered during the survey, but also the prison administration data on the correspondent prisons was collected as well.…”