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Dust storms and violent crime

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  • Jones, Benjamin A.

Abstract

Dust storms are among the largest global sources of atmospheric particulate matter and have pronounced impacts on environmental conditions and can affect individual ways-of-life. In the US, dust storm activity is generally increasing in frequency due to ongoing climate change. I shed light on a previously unknown impact of these events (on violent crimes) by exploiting their periodic occurrences as a source of exogenous environmental shocks to air pollution and daily routines. Using high-frequency data and high-dimensional fixed effects, I find strong evidence that dust storm activity is associated with violent crimes. Importantly, I show that avoidance behaviors, triggered by dust storm warnings, can largely mitigate the observed violent crime impacts. Policy implications are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Jones, Benjamin A., 2022. "Dust storms and violent crime," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:111:y:2022:i:c:s0095069621001340
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102590
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    Cited by:

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    4. Xinming Du, 2023. "Symptom or Culprit? Social Media, Air Pollution, and Violence," CESifo Working Paper Series 10296, CESifo.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Dust storms; Violent crime; Warnings; PM2.5; Avoidance behaviors; Time use;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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