Foreclosure, vacancy and crime

Lin Cui and Randall Walsh

Journal of Urban Economics, 2015, vol. 87, issue C, 72-84

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of residential foreclosures and vacancies on violent and property crime. To overcome confounding factors, a difference-in-difference research design is applied to a unique data set containing geocoded foreclosure and crime data from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Results indicate that while foreclosure alone has no effect on crime, violent crime rates increase by roughly 19% once the foreclosed home becomes vacant – an effect that increases with length of vacancy. We find weak evidence suggesting a potential vacancy effect for property crime that is much lower in magnitude.

Keywords: Foreclosure; Vacancy; Crime (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G21 H40 R31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (42)

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Working Paper: Foreclosure, Vacancy and Crime (2014)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:juecon:v:87:y:2015:i:c:p:72-84

DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2015.01.001

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