Abstract
An extensive literature shows that reduced labor earnings lead to an increase in criminality, while another literature suggests that diminished economic conditions via changes in public assistance programs may alter criminal behavior. This study considers electronic benefit transfer (EBT) reforms that may have altered households’ real income, black market activity, and criminality. A natural experiment that relies on plausibly exogenous variation in the timing of EBT reforms across California counties is exploited within an event study design to identify the effect of EBT adoption on arrests. A significant, though transitory, increase in criminal arrests is revealed. Following conversion to EBT delivery, the average county experiences an additional 108 arrests per month, or equivalently an increase of 5 . This increase in arrests lasts up to 6 months before fading out. The increase is most pronounced for crimes motivated by income shortfalls, such as burglary, larceny, prostitution, and robbery. In the average county, income-motivated criminal arrests rise by about 25 arrests, or 10 . Estimates are practically and statistically significant, as well as robust to changes in controls and specification. Findings suggest that income shocks can substantially change criminal behavior and that declining economic conditions can alter criminal behavior through channels other than labor earnings.
Acknowledgements:
I wish to thank the editor and two anonymous referees for excellent comments and suggestions that improved the article. I also wish to thank Mohsen Bahmani-Oskooee, Carlos Dobkin, Scott Drewianka, Robert Fairlie, Jack Hou, Russ Kashian, Stephen Machin, Justin Marion, Jennifer Poole, Trudi Renwick, Jon Robinson, Jose Sanchez-Fung and Owen Thompson for their helpful feedback. Additionally, the author thanks seminar and conference participants at the University of California, Santa Cruz; the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; the US Census Bureau; and the Western Economic Association International conference for valuable comments and suggestions. All errors are my own.
References
Almond, Douglas, Hilary W Hoynes, and Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. 2011. “Inside the War on Poverty: The Impact of Food Stamps on Birth Outcomes.” The Review of Economics and Statistics 93 (2): 387–403.10.3386/w14306Suche in Google Scholar
Angrist, Joshua D, and Alan B Krueger. 1999. “Empirical Strategies in Labor Economics.” Handbook of Labor Economics 3: 1277–1366.10.1016/S1573-4463(99)03004-7Suche in Google Scholar
Borusyak, Kirill, and Xavier Jaravel. 2017. “Revisiting Event Study Designs with an Application to the Estimation of the Marginal Propensity to Consume.” Working paper.10.2139/ssrn.2826228Suche in Google Scholar
Carr, Jillian B, and Analisa Packham. 2017. “SNAP Benefits and Crime: Evidence from Changing Disbursement Schedules.” Working Paper.10.1162/rest_a_00757Suche in Google Scholar
Carr, Jillian B, and Vijetha Koppa. 2018. “Housing Vouchers, Income Shocks, and Crime: Evidence from a Lottery.” Working Paper.10.2139/ssrn.2997421Suche in Google Scholar
Castellari, Elena, Chad Cotti, John Gordanier, and Orgul Ozturk. 2017. “Does the Timing of Food Stamp Distribution Matter? A Panel-Data Analysis of Monthly Purchasing Patterns of US Households.” Health Economics 26 (11): 1380–1393.10.1002/hec.3428Suche in Google Scholar
Chalfin, Aaron. 2013. “Economic Costs of Crime The Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment.Suche in Google Scholar
Ciemnecki, Anne. 1998. Final Report for the Food Stamp Participant Trafficking Study. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Service, Office of Analysis and Evaluation.Suche in Google Scholar
Cook, Philip J. 2010. “Property Crime? Yes; Violence? No.” Criminology & Public Policy 9 (4): 693–697.10.1111/j.1745-9133.2010.00661.xSuche in Google Scholar
Cotti, Chad D, John Gordanier, and Orgul D Ozturk. 2017. “When Does it Count? The Timing of Food Stamp Receipt and Educational Performance.” Working Paper.10.2139/ssrn.2992390Suche in Google Scholar
Cotti, Chad, John Gordanier, and Orgul Ozturk. 2016. “Eat (and Drink) Better Tonight: Food Stamp Benefit Timing and Drunk Driving Fatalities.” American Journal of Health Economics 2 (4): 511–534.10.1162/AJHE_a_00059Suche in Google Scholar
Currie, Janet. 2003. U.S. Food and Nutrition Programs. University of Chicago Press.10.7208/chicago/9780226533575.003.0005Suche in Google Scholar
Dobkin, Carlos, Amy Finkelstein, Raymond Kluender, and Matthew J Notowidigdo. 2018. “The Economic Consequences of Hospital Admissions.” American Economic Review 108 (2): 308–52.10.3386/w22288Suche in Google Scholar
Doyle, Joanne M, Ehsan Ahmed, and Robert N Horn. 1999. “The Effects of Labor Markets and Income Inequality on Crime: Evidence from Panel Data.” Southern Economic Journal 65 (4): 717–738.10.1002/j.2325-8012.1999.tb00196.xSuche in Google Scholar
Foley, C Fritz. 2011. “Welfare Payments and Crime.” The Review of Economics and Statistics 93 (1): 97–112.10.3386/w14074Suche in Google Scholar
Fraker, Thomas. 1990. “The Effects of Food Stamps on Food Consumption: A Review of the Literature.” Current Perspectives on Food Stamp Program Participation (USA).Suche in Google Scholar
Gould, Eric D, Bruce A Weinberg, and David B Mustard. 2002. “Crime Rates and Local Labor Market Opportunities in the United States: 1979–1997.” The Review of Economics and Statistics 84 (1): 45–61.10.1162/003465302317331919Suche in Google Scholar
Hamrick, Karen S., and Margaret Andrews. 2016. “SNAP Participants’ Eating Patterns over the Benefit Month: A Time Use Perspective.” PLOS One 11 (7): e0158422.10.1371/journal.pone.0158422Suche in Google Scholar
Hastings, Justine, and Ebonya Washington. 2010. “The First of the Month Effect: Consumer Behavior and Store Responses.” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 2 (2): 142–162.10.3386/w14578Suche in Google Scholar
Hoynes, Hilary W., and Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach. 2009. “Consumption Responses to In-Kind Transfers: Evidence from the Introduction of the Food Stamp Program.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics.10.3386/w13025Suche in Google Scholar
Hsu, Lin-Chi. 2017. “The Timing of Welfare Payments and Intimate Partner Violence.” Economic Inquiry 55 (2): 1017–1031.10.1111/ecin.12413Suche in Google Scholar
Jacobson, Louis S., Robert J. LaLonde, and Daniel G. Sullivan. 1993. “Earnings Losses of Displaced Workers.” American Economic Review 83 (4): 685–709.10.17848/wp92-11Suche in Google Scholar
Lin, Ming-Jen. 2008. “Does Unemployment Increase Crime? Evidence from US Data 1974–2000.” Journal of Human Resources 43 (2): 413–436.10.1353/jhr.2008.0022Suche in Google Scholar
Lochner, Lance, and Enrico Moretti. 2004. “The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, and Self-Reports.” American Economic Review 94 (1): 155–189.10.3386/w8605Suche in Google Scholar
Lovett, Nicholas, and Yuhan Xue. 2017. “Have Electronic Benefits Cards Improved Food Access for Food Stamp Recipients?” Journal of Economic Studies 44 (6): 958–975.10.1108/JES-10-2016-0193Suche in Google Scholar
Macaluso, Theodore F. 2000. The Extent of Trafficking in the Food Stamp Program: An Update. Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.Suche in Google Scholar
Machin, Stephen, and Costas Meghir. 2004. “Crime and Economic Incentives.” Journal of Human Resources 39 (4): 958–979.10.1920/wp.ifs.2000.0017Suche in Google Scholar
Moffitt, Robert. 1983. “An Economic Model of Welfare Stigma.” American Economic Review 73 (5): 1023–1035.Suche in Google Scholar
Nunley, John M, Michael L Stern, Richard A Seals, and Joachim Zietz. 2016. “The Impact of Inflation on Property Crime.” Contemporary Economic Policy 34 (3): 483–499.10.1111/coep.12156Suche in Google Scholar
P. Bastiotis, C. S. Cramer-LeBlanc, and E. T. Kennedy. 1998. “Maintaining Nutritional Security and Diet Quality: The Role of the Food Stamp Program and WIC.” Family Economics and Nutritional Review.Suche in Google Scholar
Raphael, Steven, and Rudolf Winter-Ebmer. 2001. “Identifying the Effect of Unemployment on Crime.” The Journal of Law and Economics 44 (1): 259–283.10.1086/320275Suche in Google Scholar
Rosenfeld, Richard, and Robert Fornango. 2007. “The Impact of Economic Conditions on Robbery and Property Crime: The Role of Consumer Sentiment.” Criminology 45 (4): 735–769.10.1111/j.1745-9125.2007.00096.xSuche in Google Scholar
Schanzenbach, Diane Whitmore. 2002. “What are Food Stamps Worth?” mimeo.Suche in Google Scholar
Schnepel, Kevin T. 2013. “Labor Market Opportunities and Crime: Evidence from Parolees.” Working Paper, University of California at Santa Barbara.Suche in Google Scholar
Shapiro, Jesse M. 2005. “Is There a Daily Discount Rate? Evidence from the Food Stamp Nutrition Cycle.” Journal of Public Economics 89 (2): 303–325.10.1016/j.jpubeco.2004.05.003Suche in Google Scholar
Tuttle, Cody. 2016. “Snapping Back: Food Stamp Bans and Criminal Recidivism.” Working Paper.Suche in Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1998–2006. “Food Stamp Program, Year-End Participation and Bonus Coupons Issues.” Food and Nutrition Service.Suche in Google Scholar
Wilde, Parke E., and Margaret S. Andrews. 2000. “The Food Stamp Program in an Era of Welfare Reform: Electronic Benefits and Changing Sources of Cash Income.” Journal of Consumer Affairs 34 (1): 31–46.10.1111/j.1745-6606.2000.tb00082.xSuche in Google Scholar
Wright, Richard, Erdal Tekin, Volkan Topalli, Chandler McClellan, Timothy Dickinson, and Richard Rosenfeld. 2017. “Less Cash, Less Crime: Evidence from the Electronic Benefit Transfer Program.” The Journal of Law and Economics 60 (2): 361–383.10.3386/w19996Suche in Google Scholar
Yang, Crystal S. 2017. “Does Public Assistance Reduce Recidivism?” American Economic Review 107 (5): 551–55.10.1257/aer.p20171001Suche in Google Scholar
© 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Research Article
- Modeling Completion of Vocational Education: The Role of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills by Program Type
- The Motherhood Penalty: Is It a Wage-Dependent Family Decision?
- Marginal Cost of Public Funds: From the Theory to the Empirical Application for the Evaluation of the Efficiency of the Tax-Benefit Systems
- Timing of Emissions and Effects of Emission Taxes in Durable-Goods Oligopolies
- Health Insurance Coverage and Firm Performance: Evidence Using Firm Level Data from Vietnam
- The Impact of Language Skills on Immigrants’ Labor Market Integration: A Brief Revision With a New Approach
- Food Stamps, Income Shocks, and Crime: Evidence from California
- Employment in Long-Term Care: The Role of Macroeconomic Conditions
- Schooling and Cohort Size: Evidence from Vietnam, Thailand, Iran and Cambodia
- U.S. Income Comparisons with Regional Price Parity Adjustments
- Letter
- A Sibling-Pair Analysis for Causal Effect of Education on Health
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Research Article
- Modeling Completion of Vocational Education: The Role of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills by Program Type
- The Motherhood Penalty: Is It a Wage-Dependent Family Decision?
- Marginal Cost of Public Funds: From the Theory to the Empirical Application for the Evaluation of the Efficiency of the Tax-Benefit Systems
- Timing of Emissions and Effects of Emission Taxes in Durable-Goods Oligopolies
- Health Insurance Coverage and Firm Performance: Evidence Using Firm Level Data from Vietnam
- The Impact of Language Skills on Immigrants’ Labor Market Integration: A Brief Revision With a New Approach
- Food Stamps, Income Shocks, and Crime: Evidence from California
- Employment in Long-Term Care: The Role of Macroeconomic Conditions
- Schooling and Cohort Size: Evidence from Vietnam, Thailand, Iran and Cambodia
- U.S. Income Comparisons with Regional Price Parity Adjustments
- Letter
- A Sibling-Pair Analysis for Causal Effect of Education on Health