Unemployment Insurance Generosity and Crime

NoghaniBehambari, Hamid, and Bitran Maden. "Unemployment insurance generosity and crime." Applied Economics Letters (2020): 1-6.

11 Pages Posted: 25 Sep 2020

Date Written: August 11, 2020

Abstract

Previous studies show that unemployment has a positive effect on crime rates; however, unemployment insurance (UI) benefits could mitigate these effects. Using county-level unemployment and crime data and taking advantage of the UI law changes across states and over time (1990-2016), we provide new evidence that the UI benefits act as a buffer against local labor market shocks. A one-standard-deviation increase in benefits is associated with 2.4% and 1.9% lower property and violent crime rates for a county at average unemployment.

Keywords: Crime; Unemployment; Unemployment Insurance

JEL Classification: D62; J65; K40

Suggested Citation

NoghaniBehambari, Hamid, Unemployment Insurance Generosity and Crime (August 11, 2020). NoghaniBehambari, Hamid, and Bitran Maden. "Unemployment insurance generosity and crime." Applied Economics Letters (2020): 1-6., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3671118 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3671118

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