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Uncovering the gender participation gap in crime

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  • Campaniello, Nadia
  • Gavrilova, Evelina

Abstract

There is little research on the gender variation in the crime market. We document a gender gap in criminal activities, based on property crimes, using data from the U.S. National Incident Based Reporting System from 1995 to 2015. We show that there is a gender participation gap, with only 30 percent of the crimes being committed by females. We try to explain the gender participation gap by focusing on incentives to commit crime, such as criminal earnings and probability of arrest. We show that on average females earn 13% less than males while they face a 9% lower likelihood of arrest. We find that males respond more to changes in illegal earnings, with an elasticity of 0.36, while females are less responsive with an elasticity of 0.23. Both genders respond equally to changes in the probability of arrest, with an elasticity around −0.14. Using a Blinder–Oaxaca type decomposition technique, we find that differences in incentives explain about 8 % of the gender participation gap, while differences in responsiveness to changes in incentives, especially illegal earnings, explain about 56% of the gap. The fact that females behave differently than males has implications for the heterogeneity in response to crime control policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Campaniello, Nadia & Gavrilova, Evelina, 2018. "Uncovering the gender participation gap in crime," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 289-304.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:109:y:2018:i:c:p:289-304
    DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2018.03.014
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    Cited by:

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    2. Shelly Lundberg, 2023. "Gender Economics: Dead-Ends and New Opportunities," Research in Labor Economics, in: 50th Celebratory Volume, volume 50, pages 151-189, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    3. Patrick Bennett & Amine Ouazad, 2020. "Job Displacement, Unemployment, and Crime: Evidence from Danish Microdata and Reforms [The Link between Human Capital, Mass Layoffs, and Firm Deaths]," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(5), pages 2182-2220.
    4. Gavrilova, Evelina, 2019. "A partner in crime: Assortative matching and bias in the crime market," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 598-612.
    5. Bjørkheim, Julie Brun & Nygård, Odd E., 2024. "Gender Differences in Tax Evasion: Evidence from Norwegian Administrative Data," Discussion Papers 2024/8, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Business and Management Science.
    6. Gavrilova, Evelina, 2021. "Females in Crime," MPRA Paper 105891, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Ayesh, Abubakr, 2023. "Burned agricultural biomass, air pollution and crime," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    8. Arnaud Philippe, 2020. "Gender Disparities in Sentencing," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 87(348), pages 1037-1077, October.
    9. Eren Kaya Cakmakci & Yeliz Yalcin & Cengiz Arikan, 2021. "Spatial Econometric Analysis of Female Convict Rates in Turkey," Journal of Economy Culture and Society, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 64(64), pages 73-90, December.
    10. Diane Charlton & Alexander James & Brock Smith, 2022. "Seasonal agricultural activity and crime," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 104(2), pages 530-549, March.
    11. Cozzi, Guido & Francesconi, Marco & Lundberg, Shelly & Mantovan, Noemi & Sauer, Robert M., 2018. "Advancing the economics of gender: New insights and a roadmap for the future," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 1-8.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender gap in crime; Crime incentives; Synthetic panel;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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