inflation, cyclical unemployment, frictional unemployment, and interactions of white arrest rates and technological unemployment. Grant and Martinez (1997) studied crime and unemployment with class linkages and findings showed a relationship between unemployment rates and crime rates with particular emphasis on property-related crimes. Thus the need for further study of the effect of race on the link between unemployment and property crime is implied.
Youth is also a factor that is viewed as being related to the link between unemployment and property crime. Studies thus far demonstrate a lack of empirical support regarding this possibility. Baron and Hartnagel (1997) studied street youths' reactions to labor market experiences. Findings were that unemployment, homelessness, drug use, and criminal peers did effect criminal behavior. Hashimoto (1987) studied the minimum wage law and its relationship to youth crimes; findings showed that the minimum wage law resulted in increased property-related crimes in youth. These studies provide impetus for the theory that youth is a relative factor, but empirical support is needed.
The problem is that while the literature points to the possibility that unemployment is linked to property crime and this relationship is affected by race and youth, a study is needed to investigate these relationships, for all individuals in the U.S. A 20-item bibliography is compiled for the literature review:
Baron, S. W. (2001). Street youth labor market experiences and crime. The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 38(2), 189-215. This study provided detailed interviews with street youths, which yielded in depth views of the problems that unemployed street youths face. A strength of the study was that it included a large sample size (n = 200). Interviews showed that these youth reported negative work experiences and a lack of concern for being unemployed. Instead, they structured thei...