On the Prospects of Signaling Theory for Criminological Research: A Comment on Potential Avenues for Future Research

Abstract

The recent introduction of signaling theory (Spence, 1973) into criminological literature has generated interest in a novel understanding of the desistance process from the perspective of the desister. Namely, that desisters may be sending signals of their underlying intentions to prominent decision-makers in their lives with the goal of transmitting a message of their new crime-free status. Important though this contribution may be, crafting valid empirical tests of signaling theory outside of controlled laboratory environments has historically been quite difficult. Criminologists interested in examining the postulates of signaling theory are best served learning from the diverse body of economic literature on signaling, particularly the various articulations to the theory that better define its propositions and point toward predictable issues we will encounter when conducting empirical tests of signaling in the context of employment markets and criminal histories.