Deliver Us from Crime? Gig Jobs, Labor Market Opportunities, and Offending

Hugo Allouard, Grazia Cecere, Jose De Sousa, Olivier Marie and Ines Picard

No 21089, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: We study how the expansion of gig job opportunities affects local labor markets and crime in France. Food delivery platforms create flexible and low-barrier jobs that attract young and minority workers from disadvantaged areas, who have limited opportunities in the traditional labor market. Using staggered difference-in-differences, we show that platform entry substantially increases rider registrations and raises labor-market participation among male migrants. We also find sizable declines in violent offenses, petty theft, vandalism, and drug crimes, consistent with increased opportunity costs of crime and reduced unstructured time among high-risk individuals. Exploiting the legal minimum age of 18 for delivery work, an age-eligibility test shows that crime reductions are concentrated among those able to take up platform jobs. These results indicate that gig jobs can expand access to legal income for marginalized groups by reducing entry barriers, with associated declines in local crime.

Keywords: Gig economy; Crime; Labor markets; Digital platforms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J68 K42 L68 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-01
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