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The impact of abortion on crime and crime-related behavior

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  • Hjalmarsson, Randi
  • Mitrut, Andreea
  • Pop-Eleches, Cristian

Abstract

The 1966 abolition and 1989 legalization of abortion in Romania immediately doubled and decreased by about a third the number of births per month, respectively. Comparing birth month cohorts born on either side of the reform cut-offs allows us to cleanly identify the effect of abortion access on crime. For both the abolition and legalization of abortion, we find large and significant effects on the level of crime and risky-behavior related hospitalization, but insignificant effects on crime and hospitalization rates. We conclude with a discussion of what our results say about the mechanisms underlying the crime effects of abortion policy.

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  • Hjalmarsson, Randi & Mitrut, Andreea & Pop-Eleches, Cristian, 2021. "The impact of abortion on crime and crime-related behavior," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:200:y:2021:i:c:s0047272721001043
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2021.104468
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    3. Gábor Hajdu & Tamás Hajdu, 2021. "The long-term impact of restricted access to abortion on children’s socioeconomic outcomes," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-14, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Abortion; Crime; Risky behavior;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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