The impact of economic opportunity on criminal behavior: Evidence from the fracking boom

Brittany Street

Journal of Public Economics, 2025, vol. 248, issue C

Abstract: Theory suggests crime should decrease as economic opportunities increase the returns to legal activities. However, the current literature shows crime increases when areas experience fracking, a source of increased local economic opportunity. This paper reconciles this puzzle by separating out existing residents and isolating local economic effects from changing composition. Specifically, I exploit within- and across-county variation in fracking activities in North Dakota using individual-level data on incumbent residents, mineral lease records, and criminal charges. The results rule out increases in crime for these existing residents and suggest a modest decrease. These results are consistent with theory and in contrast to the observed aggregate increases in crime from fracking, highlighting the importance of compositional changes.

Keywords: Crime; Economic opportunity; Fracking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H31 J60 K42 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:248:y:2025:i:c:s0047272725001008

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2025.105402

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