Welfare Activation and Youth Crime
Link to article:
Authors:
Bratsberg, Bernt, Øystein Hernaes, Simen Markussen, Oddbjørn Raaum, Knut Røed
Year:
2018
Reference:
Andre skrifter
IZA DP No. 11719
Summary
We evaluate the impact on youth crime of a welfare reform that tightened activation requirements for social assistance clients. The evaluation strategy exploits administrative individual data in combination with geographically differentiated implementation of the reform. We find that the reform reduced crime among teenage boys from economically disadvantaged families. Stronger reform effects on weekday versus weekend crime, reduced school dropout, and favorable long-run outcomes in terms of crime and educational attainment, point to both incapacitation and human capital accumulation as key mechanisms. Despite lowered social assistance take-up we uncover no indication that loss of income support pushed youth into crime.
JEL:
H55, I29, I38, J18
Keywords:
social assistance, youth crime, activation
Project:
Oppdragsgiver: Norges forskningsrådOppdragsgivers prosjektnr.: 202453
Frisch prosjekt: 1174 - Hooks for change? Family and employment as pathways to social inclusion among crime-prone individuals
Oppdragsgiver: Norges Forskningsråd
Oppdragsgivers prosjektnr.: 236992
Frisch prosjekt: 1178 - Egalitarianism under pressure? New perspectives on inequality and social cohesion
