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The Transition from School to Jail: Youth Crime and High School Completion among Black Males

Author

Listed:
  • Merlo, Antonio

    (Rice University)

  • Wolpin, Kenneth I.

    (Rice University)

Abstract

In this paper, we study the relationship among schooling, youth employment and youth crime. The framework, a multinomial discrete choice vector autoregression, provides a comprehensive analysis of the dynamic interactions among a youth's schooling, work and crime decisions and arrest and incarceration outcomes. We allow for observable initial conditions, unobserved heterogeneity, measurement error and missing data. We use data from the NLSY97 on black male youths starting from age 14. The estimates indicate important roles both for heterogeneity in initial conditions and for stochastic events that arise during one's youth in determining outcomes as young adults.

Suggested Citation

  • Merlo, Antonio & Wolpin, Kenneth I., 2015. "The Transition from School to Jail: Youth Crime and High School Completion among Black Males," Working Papers 15-004, Rice University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecl:riceco:15-004
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Chao Fu & Nicolás Grau & Jorge Rivera, 2022. "Wandering astray: Teenagers' choices of schooling and crime," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 13(2), pages 387-424, May.
    2. Limor Golan & Rong Hai & Hayley Wabiszewski, 2021. "The Impact of Juvenile Conviction on Human Capital and Labor Market Outcomes," Working Papers 2021-011, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    3. Shannon Ward & Jenny Williams & Jan C. van Ours, 2021. "Delinquency, Arrest and Early School Leaving," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 83(2), pages 411-436, April.
    4. Shannon Ward & Jenny Williams, 2015. "Does Juvenile Delinquency Reduce Educational Attainment?," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(4), pages 716-756, December.
    5. James Ades & Jyoti Mishra, 2021. "Education and Crime across America: Inequity’s Cost," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-22, July.
    6. Antonella Mancino, M., 2025. "Rehabilitating futures: Assessing the effects of correctional employment-focused programs on recidivism and employment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    7. Ostergaard Larsen, Britt & Kristensen, Nicolai, 2017. "Building Human or Criminal Capital? School Peer Effects on Future Offending," IZA Discussion Papers 11124, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Ning Fu & Donna B. Gilleskie & Shawn Kneipp & Todd Schwartz & Amanda Sheely, "undated". "The Effects of a Criminal Record on Employment, Welfare Participation, and Health: A Model of Long-Run Behaviors and Outcomes when Lagged Variables are Missing Non-Randomly," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 076c7c96e69042ea8a73646bf, Mathematica Policy Research.
    9. Shakeeb Khan & Maria Ponomareva & Elie Tamer, 2019. "Identification of Dynamic Panel Binary Response Models," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 979, Boston College Department of Economics.
    10. Grey Gordon & John B. Jones & Urvi Neelakantan & Kartik Athreya, 2023. "Incarceration, Employment and Earnings: Dynamics and Differences," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 51, pages 677-697, December.
    11. Mezza, Alvaro & Buchinsky, Moshe, 2021. "Illegal drugs, education, and labor market outcomes," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 223(2), pages 454-484.
    12. 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.
    13. Lance Lochner, 2010. "Education Policy and Crime," NBER Chapters, in: Controlling Crime: Strategies and Tradeoffs, pages 465-515, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Ham, John C. & Woutersen, Tiemen, 2011. "Calculating Confidence Intervals for Continuous and Discontinuous Functions of Estimated Parameters," IZA Discussion Papers 5816, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Mancino, Maria Antonella & Navarro, Salvador & Rivers, David A., 2016. "Separating state dependence, experience, and heterogeneity in a model of youth crime and education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 274-305.
    16. Dutta, Nabamita & Jana, Dipparna & Kar, Saibal, 2020. "Does state-level per capita income affect juvenile delinquency? An empirical analysis for Indian states," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 109-120.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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