Effects of Unemployment on Crime

Due to the fact that both crime and unemployment are among the most important problems of society and the government, the relationship between them was studied by many sociologists and criminologists. Therefore, it is a problem of social and political importance. However, despite being the subject of a large number of studies, this connection still was not clearly specified. Some studies have reported positive, others null or negative crime-unemployment relationship. Nevertheless, all studies revealed that this connection is generally weaker than the one predicted theoretically.
Thus, the connection between unemployment and crime should be profoundly and thoroughly investigated. It is hypothesized that an increase in crime rates is caused by many factors and statistical data gives only a macro-level overview, while a more individual approach is likely to show more reliable results. It would not be out of place to draw the attention to the following literature reviews that attempt to demonstrate and support the hypothesis: the research done by Cantor and Land (1985), an analytical approach of Wright and Decker (1994), Cook and Zarkin`s analysis (1985), Greenberg`s investigation (2001) and Levitt`s exploration (2001).
Generally, the results of the research indicate that the primary hypothesis is generally correct. The results based on the analysis of different types of crime prove that all models and theories have to be specified and tested. It is also important to say that theories should summarize the results of empirical work. One should emphasize that all macro-level studies should be based on statistically valid data. Furthermore, the effects of other factors on crime cannot be ignored: if the increase in unemployment is followed by imposing a more severe punishment for crime, the connection between unemployment and crime will be distorted.
On the whole, based on these five literature reviews, one can arrive at the conclusion that multifactor and...