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Chinese import competition, crime, and government transfers in US

Author

Listed:
  • Che, Yi
  • Xu, Xun
  • Zhang, Yan

Abstract

This paper exploits the exogenous rise of Chinese imports in US to investigate the effect of import competition on crime at the county level. The results indicate that counties with high exposure to Chinese import competition have high crime rates. The exposure effect on property crime is much larger than that on violent crime. A one standard deviation increase in exposure causes 32 more violent crimes in the county, while such increase in exposure causes 256 more property crimes. Interestingly, we find that the crime impact of exposure to Chinese import competition becomes smaller in counties with high government transfers.

Suggested Citation

  • Che, Yi & Xu, Xun & Zhang, Yan, 2018. "Chinese import competition, crime, and government transfers in US," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 544-567.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:46:y:2018:i:2:p:544-567
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2017.10.003
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    3. Pierre Courtioux & François Métivier & Antoine Reberioux, 2019. "Scientific Competition between Countries: Did China Get What It Paid for?," Post-Print halshs-02307534, HAL.
    4. Che, Yi & Lu, Yi & Pierce, Justin R. & Schott, Peter K. & Tao, Zhigang, 2022. "Did trade liberalization with China influence US elections?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    5. Yi Che & Xiaoyu He & Yan Zhang, 2021. "Natural resource exports and African countries' voting behaviour in the United Nations: Evidence from the economic rise of China," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(2), pages 712-759, May.
    6. Pierre Courtioux & François Métivier & Antoine Reberioux, 2019. "Scientific Competition between Countries: Did China Get What It Paid for?," Working Papers halshs-02307534, HAL.
    7. César, Andrés & Falcone, Guillermo & Gasparini, Leonardo, 2021. "Costs and benefits of trade shocks: Evidence from Chilean local labor markets," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    8. Irastorza-Fadrique, Aitor & Levell, Peter & Parey, Matthias, 2023. "Household Responses to Trade Shocks," IZA Discussion Papers 16032, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Brian Beach & John Lopresti, 2019. "Losing By Less? Import Competition, Unemployment Insurance Generosity, And Crime," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 57(2), pages 1163-1181, April.
    10. Fetzer, Thiemo & Edenhofer, Jacob & Garg, Prashant, 2024. "Local Decline and Populism," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 716, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    11. Jeff Chan, 2019. "Labour market characteristics and surviving import shocks," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 1288-1315, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Chinese import competition; US Crime; Government transfers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F14 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Empirical Studies of Trade
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

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