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Crime, Unemployment and Labor Market Programs in Turbulent Times

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Abstract
We exploit the exceptional variation in municipality-level unemployment and spending on labor market programs in Sweden during the 1990s to identify the impact of unemployment and programs on crime. We identify a statistically significant effect of unemployment on the incidence of overall crime, burglary, auto-theft and drug possession. A calculation suggests that the sharp reduction in unemployment during the later 1990s may have reduced burglary and auto-theft with 15 and 20 percent, respectively. After addressing several specification issues, we conclude that there is at best weak evidence that labor market programs ­ general ones and those specifically targeted to the young ­ help to reduce crime.

Suggested Citation

  • Nilsson, Anna & Agell, Jonas, 2003. "Crime, Unemployment and Labor Market Programs in Turbulent Times," Research Papers in Economics 2003:13, Stockholm University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:sunrpe:2003_0013
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    Cited by:

    1. Susumu Imai & Peter Fallesen & Lars Pico Geerdsen & Torben Tranaes, 2010. "The Effect Of Workfare Policy On Crime," Working Paper 1236, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    2. Paolo Buonanno, 2006. "Crime and Labour Market Opportunities in Italy (1993–2002)," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 20(4), pages 601-624, December.
    3. Panu Poutvaara & Mikael Priks, 2007. "Unemployment and Gang Crime: Could Prosperity Backfire?," CESifo Working Paper Series 1944, CESifo.
    4. Matz Dahlberg & Magnus Gustavsson, 2008. "Inequality and Crime: Separating the Effects of Permanent and Transitory Income," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 70(2), pages 129-153, April.
    5. Vittorio, Daniele, 2009. "Organized crime and regional development. A review of the Italian case," MPRA Paper 16547, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Aadil Hameed Shah & Atta Ullah Khan & Abdul Saboor & Muhammad Iftikhar‐ul‐Husnain, 2022. "Approximation of crime, poverty, and misery index across quasi‐democratic and dictatorship regimes in Pakistan: Static and dynamic analysis," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(1), pages 50-68, March.
    7. Nilsson, Anna, 2004. "Income Inequality and Crime: The Case of Sweden," Research Papers in Economics 2004:3, Stockholm University, Department of Economics.
    8. Karin Edmark, 2005. "Unemployment and Crime: Is There a Connection?," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 107(2), pages 353-373, June.
    9. Marcus Dittrich & Gunther Markwardt, 2004. "Arbeitslosigkeit und Kriminalität : eine mögliche "doppelte Dividende" der Arbeitsmarktpolitik?," ifo Dresden berichtet, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 11(06), pages 11-17, December.
    10. Abdul Hamid, Baharom & Habibullah, Muzafar & Mohd Noor, Zaleha, 2013. "Crime and Its Socio-Macroeconomics Determinants: A Panel-Error-Correction Cointegration Analysis," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 47(2), pages 13-24.
    11. Nilsson, Anna, 2004. "Income inequality and crime: The case of Sweden," Working Paper Series 2004:6, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    12. Lindvall, Lars, 2003. "Does Public Spending on Youths Affect Crime Rates?," Working Paper Series 2004:3, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    crime; unemployment; labor market programs; panel data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J00 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - General
    • K40 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - General

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