Crime &Delinquency, Ahead of Print.
This study evaluates the relationship between relative employment perceptions within licit and illicit markets and offending. Relative labor market utility (RLMU) accounts for the importance and perceived quality of work characteristics within each market. Ordered-logistic regression models evaluate the association between RLMU and willingness to commit crime amongst a nationwide (U.S.) sample. Analyses also consider mean differences in work characteristics’ importance and relative quality to identify which characteristics most incentivize crime. Findings suggest that RLMU is negatively associated with offending and improves upon a precedent measure. Several work characteristics also more strongly incentivize offending. Those interested in reducing crime through employment should focus on improving RLMU perceptions. Suggestions for doing this in practice and recommendations for future research are provided.