Where Have All the Criminals Gone?

Chapter 4 deals with the lowering of the crime rate in America, in all categories of crime, during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Various diverse theories have been proposed as to the drop in the crime rate, with numerous elected and judicial officials claiming credit due to their actions and/or plans for reducing crime. The authors indicate a completely different reason for the crime rate being lowered. Their proposal is controversial, raised many eyebrows, and is often rejected by other economists and officials. Explain thoroughly what the authors’ theory is for the lowering of the crime rate, provide statistics from the chapter to support their argument, and then thoroughly analyze their theory: Do you agree or disagree with their idea? Why or why not?