Unemployment and Crime: Is There a Connection?

Karin Edmark

Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 2005, vol. 107, issue 2, 353-373

Abstract: A panel of Swedish counties over the years 1988–1999 is used to study the effects of unemployment on property crime rates. The period under study is characterized by turbulence in the labor market—the variation in unemployment rates was unprecedented in the latter part of the century. Hence, the data provide a unique opportunity to examine unemployment effects. According to the theory of economics of crime, increased unemployment rates lead to higher property crime rates. A fixed‐effects model is estimated to investigate this hypothesis. The model includes time‐ and county‐specific effects and a number of economic and socio‐demographic variables to control for unobservables and covariates. The results show that unemployment had a positive and significant effect on some property crimes (burglary, car theft and bike theft).

Date: 2005
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