Sample Hypothesis:



Part of the explanation of the recent crime drop in Ft. Greene was the emergence of a new entrepreneurial spirit among young men in poor minority communities during the early 1990's. prior to this period, many of these young men were unemployed and angry and used a lot of their energy engaging in violent crime. This was in part because of a cultural attitude that rejected mainstream values of hard work and the belief among these men that economic opportunities were closed off to them, except through illegal activity. In the early 90's, some of these attitudes began to change and more young men began to set up their own business either in the formal above ground economy or informally. This mirrored, in part, the rise of extremely successful black entrepreneurs in the music and fashion industries during this period. As more men moved into this economic arena they were less likely to join gangs, hang out on street corners, or engage in crime and drug use. To test this hypothesis I will interview a number of men in their 30’s to ask them about the economic choices they made in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s to see if there were changes in outlook about the possibility of advancement through more conventional economic activity. I will also ask long time local residents whether they saw signs of this change in attitude in the form of a reduction of gangs and youth hanging out and an increase in young men involved in starting up business or engaging in informal retail activity other than drugs.


Independent variable: more entrepreneurial attitude.


Intervening variable: more youth engaged in legitimate economic activity and fewer youth in gangs and hanging out.


Dependent variable: lower index crime rates.