Broadband Internet: An Information Superhighway to Sex Crime?

Manudeep Bhuller, Tarjei Havnes, Edwin Leuven and Magne Mogstad

No 5675, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Does internet use trigger sex crime? We use unique Norwegian data on crime and internet adoption to shed light on this question. A public program with limited funding rolled out broadband access points in 2000-2008, and provides plausibly exogenous variation in internet use. Our instrumental variables and fixed effect estimates show that internet use is associated with a substantial increase in reported incidences of rape and other sex crimes. We present a theoretical framework that highlights three mechanisms for how internet use may affect reported sex crime, namely a reporting effect, a matching effect on potential offenders and victims, and a direct effect on crime propensity. Our results indicate that the direct effect is non-negligible and positive, plausibly as a result of increased consumption of pornography.

Keywords: pornography; sex crimes; instrumental variables; broadband; rape; internet (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 H40 I28 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 44 pages
Date: 2011-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ict
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

Published - published in: Review of Economic Studies, 2013, 80 (4), 1237-1266

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Related works:
Journal Article: Broadband Internet: An Information Superhighway to Sex Crime? (2013)
Working Paper: Broadband Internet: An Information Superhighway to Sex Crime? (2012)
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