Stealing to Survive: Crime and Income Shocks in 19th Century France

Vincent Bignon, Eve Caroli and Roberto Galbiati

No 1111, CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) from CEPREMAP

Abstract: Using department level administrative data from 1826 to 1936 we document the evolution of crime rates in 19th century France and we estimate the impact of a negative income shock on crime. Our identification strategy exploits the phylloxera crisis. Between 1863 and 1890, phylloxera destroyed about 40% of French vineyards. Using the departmental variation in the timing of this shock we instrument wine production and we identify the effects of the shock on property and violent crime rates. Our estimates suggest that the phylloxera crisis did not significantly impact on violent crimes but caused a strong increase in property crimes. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that the phylloxera crisis caused an increase in property crime rates of about ten percent.

Keywords: crime; income shock; phylloxera; 19th century France (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K42 N33 R11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 27 pages
Date: 2011-09, Revised 2013-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his and nep-law
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Downloads: (external link)
http://www.cepremap.fr/depot/docweb/docweb1111.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Stealing to Survive? Crime and Income Shocks in Nineteenth Century France (2017)
Working Paper: Stealing to Survive? Crime and Income Shock in 19th Century France (2015)
Working Paper: Stealing to Survive: Crime and Income Shocks in 19th Century France (2014)
Working Paper: Stealing to Survive: Crime and Income Shocks in 19th Century France (2014)
Working Paper: Stealing to Survive? Crime and Income Shocks in 19th Century France (2014)
Working Paper: Stealing to Survive: Crime and Income Shock in 19th century France (2013)
Working Paper: Stealing to Survive: Crime and Income Shocks in 19th Century France (2011)
Working Paper: Stealing to Survive: Crime and Income Shocks in 19th Century France (2011)
Working Paper: Stealing to Survive: Crime and Income Shocks in 19th Century France (2011)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cpm:docweb:1111

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