Crime and Circumstance: The Effects of Infant Health Shocks on Fathers' Criminal Activity

Hope Corman, Kelly Noonan, Nancy Reichman and Ofira Schwartz-Soicher
Additional contact information
Hope Corman: Rider University and National Bureau of Economic Research
Kelly Noonan: Rider University and National Bureau of Economic Research
Nancy Reichman: Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Ofira Schwartz-Soicher: Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

No 913, Working Papers from Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing.

Abstract: Few studies in the economics literature have linked individuals? criminal behavior to changes in their personal circumstances. Life shocks, such as natural or personal disasters, could reduce or sever a person's connections to his/her family, job, or community. With fewer connections, crime may become a more attractive option. This study addresses the question of whether an exogenous shock in life circumstances affects criminal activity. Specifically, we estimate the effects of the birth of a child with a random and serious health problem (versus the birth of a healthy infant) on the likelihood that the child's father becomes or remains involved in illegal activities. Controlling for the father's pre-birth criminal activity, we find that the shock of having a child with a serious health problem increases both the father's post-birth conviction and incarceration by 1 to 8 percentage points, depending on the measure of infant health used.

JEL-codes: K42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006-12
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w12754/w12754.pdf

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pri:crcwel:wp06-35-ff.pdf

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers from Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Bobray Bordelon ().