Unemployment and Crime: Is There a Connection?
利用瑞典1988-1999年县级面板数据，通过固定效应模型分析失业对财产犯罪率的影响，发现失业显著增加了入室盗窃、汽车盗窃和自行车盗窃。
Abstract A panel of Swedish counties over the years 1988–1999 is used to study the effects of unemployment on property crime rates. The period under study is characterized by turbulence in the labor market—the variation in unemployment rates was unprecedented in the latter part of the century. Hence, the data provide a unique opportunity to examine unemployment effects. According to the theory of economics of crime, increased unemployment rates lead to higher property crime rates. A fixed‐effects model is estimated to investigate this hypothesis. The model includes time‐ and county‐specific effects and a number of economic and socio‐demographic variables to control for unobservables and covariates. The results show that unemployment had a positive and significant effect on some property crimes (burglary, car theft and bike theft).