Economic Uncertainty, Parental Selection, and the Criminal Activity of the 'Children of the Wall'

Arnaud Chevalier and Olivier Marie

No 7712, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We explore the link between parental selection and criminality of children in a new context. After the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, East Germany experienced a very large, but temporary, drop in birth rates mostly driven by economic uncertainty. We exploit this natural experiment in a differences-in-differences setup to first estimate that the children from these affected (smaller) cohorts are relatively much more likely to be criminally active. Using individual level data, we provide evidence that women who gave birth in at this period of uncertainty were negatively selected into fertility. Further investigation of the underlying mechanisms reveals that emotional attachment and intergenerational transmission of risk attitudes play important roles in the parental selection-crime of children relationship. Finally, results for siblings support a causal interpretation of our findings.

Keywords: crime; parental selection; fertility decision; economic uncertainty; risk attitude (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J13 K42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 59 pages
Date: 2013-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-law
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Published - revised version publisehd as 'Risky moms, risky kids? fertility and crime after the fall of the wal' in: Journal of Public Economics , 2024, 230, 105048

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Related works:
Working Paper: Economic Uncertainty, Parental Selection, and the Criminal Activity of the 'Children of the Wall' (2014)
Working Paper: Economic uncertainty, parental selection and the criminal activity of the 'children of the wall' (2014)
Working Paper: Economic Uncertainty, Parental Selection, and the Criminal Activity of the 'Children of the Wall' (2013)
Working Paper: Economic Uncertainty, Parental Selection, and the Criminal Activity of the "Children of the Wall" (2013)
Working Paper: Economic uncertainty, parental selection, and the criminal activity of the ‘children of the wall’ (2013)
Working Paper: Economic uncertainty, parental selection, and the criminal activity of the 'children of the wall' (2013)
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