Do Immigrants Cause Crime?

Journal of the European Economic Association, Forthcoming

37 Pages Posted: 14 Mar 2011

See all articles by Milo Bianchi

Milo Bianchi

University of Toulouse 1 - Toulouse School of Economics (TSE)

Paolo Buonanno

University of Bergamo - Department of Economics

Paolo Pinotti

Bocconi University - BAFFI Center on International Markets, Money, and Regulation

Date Written: November 15, 2010

Abstract

We examine the empirical relationship between immigration and crime across Italian provinces during the period 1990-2003. Drawing on police administrative records, we first document that the size of the immigrant population is positively correlated with the incidence of property crimes and with the overall crime rate. Then, we use instrumental variables based on immigration toward destination countries other than Italy to identify the causal impact of exogenous changes in Italy's immigrant population. According to these estimates, immigration increases only the incidence of robberies, while leaving unaffected all other types of crime. Since robberies represent a very minor fraction of all criminal offenses, the effect on the overall crime rate is not significantly different from zero.

Keywords: Immigration, crime

JEL Classification: F22, J15, K42, R10

Suggested Citation

Bianchi, Milo and Buonanno, Paolo and Pinotti, Paolo, Do Immigrants Cause Crime? (November 15, 2010). Journal of the European Economic Association, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1785005

Milo Bianchi (Contact Author)

University of Toulouse 1 - Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) ( email )

Place Anatole-France
Toulouse Cedex, F-31042
France

Paolo Buonanno

University of Bergamo - Department of Economics ( email )

Via dei Caniana 2
Bergamo, Bergamo 24127
Italy

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.unibg.it/ugov/person/2913

Paolo Pinotti

Bocconi University - BAFFI Center on International Markets, Money, and Regulation ( email )

Milano, 20136
Italy

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