Are Idle Hands the Devil's Workshop? Incapacitation, Concentration, and Juvenile Crime

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2003
Volume: 93
Issue: 5
Pages: 1560-1577

Authors (2)

Brian A. Jacob (not in RePEc) Lars Lefgren (Brigham Young University)

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper examines the short-term effect of school on juvenile crime. To do so, we bring together daily measures of criminal activity and detailed school calendar information from 29 jurisdictions across the country, and utilize the plausibly exogenous variation generated by teacher in-service days. We find that the level of property crime committed by juveniles decreases by 14 percent on days when school is in session, but the level of violent crime increases by 28 percent on such days. Our findings suggest that both incapacitation and concentration influence juvenile crime.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:93:y:2003:i:5:p:1560-1577
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25