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Child's Gender, Young Fathers' Crime, and Spillover Effects in Criminal Behavior

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  • Christian Dustmann

    (University College London and Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM))

  • Rasmus Landersø

    (Rockwool Foundation Research Unit)

Abstract

This paper studies whether an exogenous reduction in the criminal activity of one individual lowers crimes committed by other young men who live in the immediate neighborhood. Using the randomness of a child's gender, we first show that men who father their first child at a very young age are convicted of significantly fewer crimes in the first years after the birth if the child is a son rather than a daughter. We next show that this leads to behavioral spillovers that significantly reduce criminal convictions among other young men living in the same neighborhood as the father at the child's birth, as well as victimization rates, for at least five years after birth. Evaluating our estimates within a structural model shows that spillovers in crime generate crime multipliers that continue to increase even after the primary impact of the initial shock on the focal individual has dissipated. From the model we further illustrate that crime prevention policies that target high crime individuals at an early stage of their lives are likely to lead to far larger reductions in the cost of crime than suggested by the primary effects alone.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Dustmann & Rasmus Landersø, 2018. "Child's Gender, Young Fathers' Crime, and Spillover Effects in Criminal Behavior," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 1805, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
  • Handle: RePEc:crm:wpaper:1805
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Chuhong & Liu, Xingfei & Yan, Zizhong & Zhao, Yi, 2022. "Higher education expansion and crime: New evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    2. Wenyi Lu & Siyuan Fan, 2024. "Drinking in despair: Unintended consequences of automation in China," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(9), pages 2088-2104, September.
    3. Stefano Falcone, 2022. "Do Evictions Increase Crime? Evidence from Nuisance Ordinances in Ohio," Working Papers 1359, Barcelona School of Economics.
    4. Eva Rye Johansen & Helena Skyt Nielsen & Mette Verner, 2018. "Long-term Consequences of Early Parenthood," Economics Working Papers 2018-01-, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    5. Maxim N. Massenkoff & Evan K. Rose, 2022. "Family Formation and Crime," NBER Working Papers 30385, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Stephen B. Billings & Mark Hoekstra, 2019. "Schools, Neighborhoods, and the Long-Run Effect of Crime-Prone Peers," NBER Working Papers 25730, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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