Turning from crime: A dynamic perspective

作     者：Sickles, Robin C. Williams, Jenny 

作者机构：Rice Univ Dept Econ Houston TX 77251 USA Univ Melbourne Melbourne Vic 3010 Australia 

出 版 物：《JOURNAL OF ECONOMETRICS》 (经济计量学杂志)

年 卷 期：2008年第145卷第1-2期

页      面：158-173页

核心收录：

学科分类：02[经济学] 0201[经济学-理论经济学] 0701[理学-数学] 

基　　金：James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University 

主　　题：social capital dynamic model panel data value function approximation simulated method of moments 

摘      要：This paper examines criminal choice using a variant of the human capital model. The innovation of our approach is that it attempts to disaggregate individual capital, not unlike production-based studies which disaggregate physical capital into equipment and structures. We disaggregate an individual s capital stock into the standard human capital component as well as a utility generating component that we call social capital, In our set-up, social capital is used to account for the influence of social norms on the decision to participate in crime. This is done by modeling the stigma of arrest as a reduction in the individual s social capital stock. We also allow individuals to account for the impact of their criminal actions on their probability of arrest. In order to estimate the structural parameters underlying the model, we make use of computationally intensive methods involving simulated generalized method of moments and value function approximation. The empirical results, based on panel data from the Delinquency in a Birth Cohort II Study, support the social capital model of crime and reveal significant state dependence in the decision to participate in crime. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V.