The effect of air pollution on criminal activities: Evidence from the NOx Budget Trading Program

Siyu Chen and Teng Li

Regional Science and Urban Economics, 2020, vol. 83, issue C

Abstract: This paper examines the impacts of air pollution on criminal activities by exploiting three dimensions of variations observed under a rich quasi-experiment: the NOx Budget Trading Program. This program has been well documented to decrease air pollution concentrations in participating states. Employing a triple-difference estimator, we find evidence showing that the program significantly reduced violent and property crimes in participating states by roughly 3.7% and 2.9%, respectively. Instrumental variable estimates suggest that lowering air pollution may play an important role in reducing criminal behaviors.

Keywords: Air pollution; Criminal activities; NOx Budget Trading Program (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K42 Q51 Q58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:regeco:v:83:y:2020:i:c:s0166046219301279

DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2020.103528

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