Crime-time: how ambient light affects crime

Patricio Domínguez and Kenzo Asahi

Journal of Economic Geography, 2023, vol. 23, issue 2, 299-317

Abstract: This paper studies the effect of sunlight on crime, taking advantage of a daylight saving time (DST) policy. We find a 30% decrease in robberies when the DST transition increases the amount of sunlight by 1 h during the 7–9 p.m. period. We document a symmetric reaction when DST decreases sunlight exposure. We complement these findings by showing that the response induced by DST is not associated with a plausible demand-side response such as the population’s commuting patterns and we find no substantial short-term displacement of crime. Our results show that ambient light is a key driver of criminal activity in urban spaces.

Keywords: Crime; robbery; ambient light; daylight saving time (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D01 K42 R41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:jecgeo:v:23:y:2023:i:2:p:299-317.

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