Does Child Labor Reduce Youth Crime?

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-2007

Department

School of Business

Abstract

This paper explores the nexus between youth employment, youth crime, and socialization in the context of the child labor debate in economics. The analysis draws upon both economics and sociology and suggests that neglect of the socializing benefits of youth (and perhaps child) employment in the economics literature is a potentially important lacuna. The sociology literature contains evidence that youth labor reduces criminal propensity. If this effect extends to the youth who are the subject of the economics child-labor literature, potentially large private and external benefits of some types of child labor have been ignored. After presenting evidence of the linkage between youth socialization, youth employment, and youth crime we consider possible implications for child-labor policies.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6435.2007.00385.x

First Page

559

Last Page

575

Volume

60

Issue

4

ISSN

00235962

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