I Am Innocent: Hourly Variations in Air Pollution and Crime Behavior

Luis Sarmiento

No 1879, Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin from DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research

Abstract: I posit that hourly changes in air pollution affect criminality through two distinct pathways, via physiological effects on the criminal and by changes in the tightness of the market for criminal activities. To disentangle individual from market effects, I develop a behavioral model of the individual decision to transgress and a model of search-and-matching frictions between criminals and crime opportunities. The study examines the impact on the four largest cities in North America. Causality emerges from instrumental variable panel-models. Results show that pollution increases violent and unpremeditated crimes while decreasing burglaries and sexual offenses through a reduction of crime opportunities.

Keywords: Local air pollution; criminality; external effects; prospect theory; search and matching frictions; panel models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H23 I18 K14 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 44 p.
Date: 2020
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-env, nep-upt and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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