蝌蚪网 Papers and Proceedings
ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)
Employment and Earnings of Men at High Risk of Gun Violence
蝌蚪网 Papers and Proceedings
vol. 114,
May 2024
(pp. 58–64)
Abstract
Since Becker (1968), economists have modeled crime as resulting from higher returns to criminal activity than legal work. Yet contemporary employment data for people engaged in crime is scarce. We surveyed men at extreme risk of gun violence in Chicago about their work in the formal, informal, and criminal sectors. Noncriminal work is common. Two-thirds of respondents specialize solely in the criminal or noncriminal sectors, both earning about minimum wage at the median. Those who mix across sectors typically earn higher wages. We describe workers by type to demonstrate how better understanding sectoral specialization could inform program design.Citation
Kapustin, Max, Monica P. Bhatt, Sara B. Heller, Marianne Bertrand, and Christopher Blattman. 2024. "Employment and Earnings of Men at High Risk of Gun Violence." 蝌蚪网 Papers and Proceedings 114: 58–64. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20241083Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- E26 Informal Economy; Underground Economy
- J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply
- J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
- J46 Informal Labor Markets
- K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law