RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN YOUTH CRIME AND EMPLOYMENT: A THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL APPROACH

This thesis examines the simultaneity and timing aspects of the relationships between youth crime and employment. It begins with a review of the theoretical and empirical literatures related to this subject. Several conclusions were reached based upon this review. First, the theoretical sociological and economic literatures conflict with respect to the existence, nature and importance of youth crime and employment relationships. Secondly, the findings of the empirical studies on this topic conflict with respect to the direction, magnitude and significance of any youth crime-employment relationships. Moreover, with the exception of this thesis, there have been no studies based on micro level data which investigate the simultaneity of youth crime and employment relationships. The theoretical components of this thesis goes on to develop likely patterns of youth crime and employment relationships. Based on this analysis, an empirical model is constructed and tested. The main component of the empirical analysis consists of a FIML simultaneous probit model where the latent dependent variables are the net utility of crime and an employability index. The estimation is based on data on 302 youths who were enrolled in a crime prevention program in Philadelphia. The employment, police contact, seasonal dummies, unemployment rate and relevant youth and family demographic data are constructed as time series data where each person/month observation is assigned a set of historical variables. The thesis concludes that the net utility of crime and the employability of youths are simultaneously determined. The one other variable found to be a significant determinant of the net utility of crime is the length of time since the youth\u27s last police contact. Other significant determinants of a youth\u27s employability include the length of time since the youth\u27s last police contact, the youth\u27s employment status in the preceeding time period, and the seasons. Dropping the strict econometric interpretations of the two latent dependent variables, this study concludes that policies such as government employment programs or a reduction in the minimum wage for youths would have the beneficial effect of reducing youth crime. However, if youths displace adults in the labor force, there may be an increase in adult criminality. Moreover, this study suggests that judges who harshly reprimand delinquent youths demanding that youths find and keep jobs as proof of their reformation will be successful in reducing delinquency

Child support enforcement for teenage fathers: Problems and prospects

Data from the NLSY (National Longitudinal Survey of Labor Market Experiences-Youth Cohort) indicate that about 7.3 percent of teenage males become fathers and that very few of these fathers live with their children. Father absence and the concurrent increase in female-headed households are closely associated with the impoverishment of children. Most absent teen fathers never come into contact with the child support enforcement program, and the extent to which they financially support their children informally is not well understood. While the income of absent teen fathers is low in the teen years, it increases over time, as does the potential for collecting child support. Nevertheless, men who were absent teen fathers earn less in early adulthood than men who deferred parenting until age 20 or later and teen fathers who lived with their children. Early establishment of paternity and greater standardization in the treatment of adolescent fathers by the child support enforcement program are recommended. Further, the substantial and persistent income deficit experienced by adolescent fathers who live apart from their children raises an interesting dilemma. While children may benefit financially and psychosocially from living with two parents, the lower income of men who were absent teenage fathers may make them poor marital prospects. This raises doubts about the recent recommendations of some scholars that we should bring back the shotgun wedding.

Public policy and mental health : avenues for prevention

79 hlm.; Ilus.; 25 cm