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In the heat of the moment: Economic and non-economic drivers of the weather-crime relationship

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  • Blakeslee, David
  • Chaurey, Ritam
  • Fishman, Ram
  • Malghan, Deepak
  • Malik, Samreen

Abstract

Using daily data on the universe of crimes from 600 police stations in Karnataka, India between 2011 and 2016, and daily weather data from a dense network of monitoring stations, we study the daily and seasonal weather-crime relationship. We analyze a wide variety of crime types, and find that violent crimes respond to both daily and seasonal variation in temperatures and rainfall, whereas property crimes only respond to seasonal variation. The results provide novel evidence for the economic theory of crime, but also for the importance of non-economic drivers of violent crime, including violence against women and ethnically marginalized groups, and inter-group conflict.

Suggested Citation

  • Blakeslee, David & Chaurey, Ritam & Fishman, Ram & Malghan, Deepak & Malik, Samreen, 2021. "In the heat of the moment: Economic and non-economic drivers of the weather-crime relationship," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 832-856.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:192:y:2021:i:c:p:832-856
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2021.11.003
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    Cited by:

    1. Basiglio, Stefania & Foresta, Alessandra & Turati, Gilberto, 2024. "Impatience and crime. Evidence from the NLSY97," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    2. Braakmann, Nils, 2024. "Temperature, crime and policing: Evidence from UK geocoded data," SocArXiv ubf7m, Center for Open Science.
    3. Krause, Jan S. & Brandt, Gerrit & Schmidt, Ulrich & Schunk, Daniel, 2023. "Don’t sweat it: Ambient temperature does not affect social behavior and perception," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    4. repec:ags:aaea22:335912 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Ceren Baysan & Marshall Burke & Felipe González & Solomon Hsiang & Edward Miguel, 2018. "Economic and Non-Economic Factors in Violence: Evidence from Organized Crime, Suicides and Climate in Mexico," NBER Working Papers 24897, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Ayesh, Abubakr, 2023. "Burned agricultural biomass, air pollution and crime," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    7. Mario Lackner & Hendrik Sonnabend, 2024. "When performance melts away: Heat causes mental errors in high-stakes competitions," Economics working papers 2024-11, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    8. Ankel-Peters, Jörg & Bruederle, Anna & Roberts, Gareth, 2022. "Weather and Crime—Cautious evidence from South Africa," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 3(1), pages 1-22.
    9. Batkeyev, Birzhan & DeRemer, David R., 2023. "Mountains of evidence: The effects of abnormal air pollution on crime," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 288-319.
    10. Sardoschau, Sulin & Casanueva, Annalí, 2024. "Public Signal and Private Action: Right-wing Protest and Hate Crimes against Refugees," VfS Annual Conference 2024 (Berlin): Upcoming Labor Market Challenges 302408, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Weather shocks; Climate; Crime; Conflict; Gender;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • Q51 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Valuation of Environmental Effects
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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