IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/finmgt/v54y2025i2p237-269.html

Echoes of insecurity: The detrimental effect of crime on corporate employment

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang Peng
  • Xinzheng Shi
  • Junyan Yu

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of local crime on corporate employment in China. Leveraging a comprehensive data set of 85 million court judicial documents, we construct city‐level crime measures. We find that local crime is negatively associated with corporate employment. Using China's Gang Crime Crackdown program as a quasi‐natural experiment and the difference‐in‐differences approach, we further identify the causal relationship. Violent crimes and those with longer sentences drive the negative correlation between local crime and corporate employment. This relation is particularly pronounced among low‐skilled employees, in cities with inadequate commuter security, and in financially constrained firms. Our findings emphasize the role of a secure social environment in the local labor market and firms' employment decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang Peng & Xinzheng Shi & Junyan Yu, 2025. "Echoes of insecurity: The detrimental effect of crime on corporate employment," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 54(2), pages 237-269, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:finmgt:v:54:y:2025:i:2:p:237-269
    DOI: 10.1111/fima.12479
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/fima.12479
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/fima.12479?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Agrawal, Ashwini K. & Matsa, David A., 2013. "Labor unemployment risk and corporate financing decisions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(2), pages 449-470.
    2. Araujo, Aloisio & Ferreira, Rafael & Lagaras, Spyridon & Moraes, Flavio & Ponticelli, Jacopo & Tsoutsoura, Margarita, 2023. "The labor effects of judicial bias in bankruptcy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(2).
    3. Liu, Xiaoling & Wu, Yuhui & Zhang, Huan, 2023. "Collateral-based monetary policy and corporate employment: Evidence from Medium-term Lending Facility in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. Giroud, Xavier & Mueller, Holger M., 2021. "Firm leverage and employment dynamics," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(3), pages 1381-1394.
    5. Campello, Murillo & Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R., 2010. "The real effects of financial constraints: Evidence from a financial crisis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(3), pages 470-487, September.
    6. Murillo Campello & Erasmo Giambona & John R. Graham & Campbell R. Harvey, 2011. "Liquidity Management and Corporate Investment During a Financial Crisis," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(6), pages 1944-1979.
    7. Raphael, Steven & Winter-Ember, Rudolf, 2001. "Identifying the Effect of Unemployment on Crime," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(1), pages 259-283, April.
    8. Christian Dustmann & Francesco Fasani, 2016. "The Effect of Local Area Crime on Mental Health," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(593), pages 978-1017, June.
    9. Xavier Giroud & Holger M. Mueller, 2017. "Firm Leverage, Consumer Demand, and Employment Losses during the Great Recession," Working Papers 17-01, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    10. Antonio Falato & Nellie Liang, 2016. "Do Creditor Rights Increase Employment Risk? Evidence from Loan Covenants," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 71(6), pages 2545-2590, December.
    11. Jacopo Ponticelli & Leonardo S. Alencar, 2016. "Court Enforcement, Bank Loans, and Firm Investment: Evidence from a Bankruptcy Reform in Brazil," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(3), pages 1365-1413.
    12. Sharkey, Patrick & Torrats-Espinosa, Gerard, 2017. "The effect of violent crime on economic mobility," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 22-33.
    13. Scott E. Yonker, 2017. "Do Managers Give Hometown Labor an Edge?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(10), pages 3581-3604.
    14. Mejía, Daniel & Restrepo, Pascual, 2016. "Crime and conspicuous consumption," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 1-14.
    15. Allen, Franklin & Qian, Jun & Qian, Meijun, 2005. "Law, finance, and economic growth in China," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 57-116, July.
    16. Eric A. Verhoogen, 2008. "Trade, Quality Upgrading, and Wage Inequality in the Mexican Manufacturing Sector," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(2), pages 489-530.
    17. Xavier Giroud & Holger M. Mueller, 2017. "Firm Leverage, Consumer Demand, and Employment Losses During the Great Recession," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 132(1), pages 271-316.
    18. Timothy Besley & Hannes Mueller, 2012. "Estimating the Peace Dividend: The Impact of Violence on House Prices in Northern Ireland," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(2), pages 810-833, April.
    19. Ramin P. Baghai & Rui C. Silva & Viktor Thell & Vikrant Vig, 2021. "Talent in Distressed Firms: Investigating the Labor Costs of Financial Distress," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 76(6), pages 2907-2961, December.
    20. Henri Fraisse & Mathias Lé & David Thesmar, 2020. "The Real Effects of Bank Capital Requirements," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(1), pages 5-23, January.
    21. Ersahin, Nuri & Irani, Rustom M. & Le, Hanh, 2021. "Creditor control rights and resource allocation within firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(1), pages 186-208.
    22. Frederico Belo & Andres Donangelo & Xiaoji Lin & Ding Luo & Stijn Van, 2023. "What Drives Firms’ Hiring Decisions? An Asset Pricing Perspective," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 36(9), pages 3825-3860.
    23. Popov, Alexander & Rocholl, Jörg, 2018. "Do credit shocks affect labor demand? Evidence for employment and wages during the financial crisis," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 16-27.
    24. Sandra V. Rozo, 2018. "Is Murder Bad for Business? Evidence from Colombia," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 100(5), pages 769-782, December.
    25. Benmelech, Efraim & Frydman, Carola & Papanikolaou, Dimitris, 2019. "Financial frictions and employment during the Great Depression," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(3), pages 541-563.
    26. Nuri Ersahin & Rustom M Irani, 2020. "Collateral Shocks and Corporate Employment [House prices, collateral, and self-employment]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 24(1), pages 163-187.
    27. Geng, Heng (Griffin) & Huang, Yi & Lin, Chen & Liu, Sibo, 2022. "Minimum Wage and Corporate Investment: Evidence from Manufacturing Firms in China," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 57(1), pages 94-126, February.
    28. Geoffrey Tate & Liu Yang, 2015. "The Bright Side of Corporate Diversification: Evidence from Internal Labor Markets," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(8), pages 2203-2249.
    29. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:4:p:1777-1804 is not listed on IDEAS
    30. Lu, Zhengfei & Zhu, Jigao & Zhang, Weining, 2012. "Bank discrimination, holding bank ownership, and economic consequences: Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 341-354.
    31. Julie Berry Cullen & Steven D. Levitt, 1999. "Crime, Urban Flight, And The Consequences For Cities," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(2), pages 159-169, May.
    32. Selale Tuzel & Miao Ben Zhang, 2021. "Economic Stimulus at the Expense of Routine‐Task Jobs," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 76(6), pages 3347-3399, December.
    33. Murillo Campello & Mauricio Larrain, 2016. "Enlarging the Contracting Space: Collateral Menus, Access to Credit, and Economic Activity," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(2), pages 349-383.
    34. Litterio Mirenda & Sauro Mocetti & Lucia Rizzica, 2022. "The Economic Effects of Mafia: Firm Level Evidence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 112(8), pages 2748-2773, August.
    35. Viral V Acharya & Tim Eisert & Christian Eufinger & Christian Hirsch, 2018. "Real Effects of the Sovereign Debt Crisis in Europe: Evidence from Syndicated Loans," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(8), pages 2855-2896.
    36. Jia, Ruixue & Lan, Xiaohuan & Padró i Miquel, Gerard, 2021. "Doing business in China: Parental background and government intervention determine who owns busines," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    37. Taehyun Kim & Quoc H Nguyen, 2020. "The Effect of Public Spending on Private Investment," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 24(2), pages 415-451.
    38. Lamont, Owen & Polk, Christopher & Saa-Requejo, Jesus, 2001. "Financial Constraints and Stock Returns," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 14(2), pages 529-554.
    39. Youngsang Kim & Sophia Soyoung Jeong & Daphne W. Yiu & Jinhee Moon, 2021. "Frequent CEO Turnover and Firm Performance: The Resilience Effect of Workforce Diversity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 173(1), pages 185-203, September.
    40. Levitt, Steven D, 1998. "Why Do Increased Arrest Rates Appear to Reduce Crime: Deterrence, Incapacitation, or Measurement Error?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(3), pages 353-372, July.
    41. Tania Babina, 2020. "Destructive Creation at Work: How Financial Distress Spurs Entrepreneurship," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(9), pages 4061-4101.
    42. Nikita Melnikov & Carlos Schmidt-Padilla & Maria Micaela Sviatschi, 2020. "Gangs, Labor Mobility and Development," NBER Working Papers 27832, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    43. Deng, Xin & Gao, Huasheng, 2013. "Nonmonetary Benefits, Quality of Life, and Executive Compensation," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(1), pages 197-218, February.
    44. Amalia R. Miller & Carmit Segal, 2012. "Does Temporary Affirmative Action Produce Persistent Effects? A Study of Black and Female Employment in Law Enforcement," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(4), pages 1107-1125, November.
    45. Foley-Fisher, Nathan & Ramcharan, Rodney & Yu, Edison, 2016. "The impact of unconventional monetary policy on firm financing constraints: Evidence from the maturity extension program," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(2), pages 409-429.
    46. Kahle, Kathleen M. & Stulz, René M., 2013. "Access to capital, investment, and the financial crisis," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(2), pages 280-299.
    47. Jean‐Noël Barrot & Ramana Nanda, 2020. "The Employment Effects of Faster Payment: Evidence from the Federal Quickpay Reform," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 75(6), pages 3139-3173, December.
    48. Karpoff, Jonathan M. & Rice, Edward M., 1989. "Organizational form, share transferability, and firm performance : Evidence from the ANCSA corporations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 69-105, September.
    49. Charles J. Hadlock & Joshua R. Pierce, 2010. "New Evidence on Measuring Financial Constraints: Moving Beyond the KZ Index," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(5), pages 1909-1940.
    50. Borisov, Alexander & Ellul, Andrew & Sevilir, Merih, 2021. "Access to public capital markets and employment growth," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(3), pages 896-918.
    51. Kahle, Kathleen & Stulz, René M., 2021. "Why are corporate payouts so high in the 2000s?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(3), pages 1359-1380.
    52. Blattman, Christopher & Jamison, Julian & Koroknay-Palicz, Tricia & Rodrigues, Katherine & Sheridan, Margaret, 2016. "Measuring the measurement error: A method to qualitatively validate survey data," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 99-112.
    53. Eric D. Gould & Bruce A. Weinberg & David B. Mustard, 2002. "Crime Rates And Local Labor Market Opportunities In The United States: 1979-1997," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(1), pages 45-61, February.
    54. Miller, Ted R. & Cohen, Mark A. & Swedler, David I. & Ali, Bina & Hendrie, Delia V., 2021. "Incidence and Costs of Personal and Property Crimes in the USA, 2017," Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 24-54, March.
    55. Alex Edmans & Xavier Gabaix & Augustin Landier, 2009. "A Multiplicative Model of Optimal CEO Incentives in Market Equilibrium," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(12), pages 4881-4917, December.
    56. Yoon, Pyung Sig & Starks, Laura T, 1995. "Signaling, Investment Opportunities, and Dividend Announcements," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 8(4), pages 995-1018.
    57. Dai, Yunhao & Rau, P. Raghavendra & Stouraitis, Aris & Tan, Weiqiang, 2020. "An ill wind? Terrorist attacks and CEO compensation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(2), pages 379-398.
    58. Daron Acemoglu, 1998. "Why Do New Technologies Complement Skills? Directed Technical Change and Wage Inequality," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(4), pages 1055-1089.
    59. Chava, Sudheer & Danis, András & Hsu, Alex, 2020. "The economic impact of right-to-work laws: Evidence from collective bargaining agreements and corporate policies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(2), pages 451-469.
    60. Ryan Brown & Verónica Montalva & Duncan Thomas & Andrea Velásquez, 2019. "Impact of Violent Crime on Risk Aversion: Evidence from the Mexican Drug War," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 101(5), pages 892-904, December.
    61. Ruixue Jia & Xiaohuan Lan & Gerard Padró I Miquel, 2021. "Doing Business in China: Parental Background and Government Intervention Determine Who Owns Businesses," NBER Working Papers 28547, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    62. Steven N. Kaplan & Luigi Zingales, 1997. "Do Investment-Cash Flow Sensitivities Provide Useful Measures of Financing Constraints?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(1), pages 169-215.
    63. Ryan Michaels & T Beau Page & Toni M Whited, 2019. "Labor and Capital Dynamics under Financing Frictions," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 23(2), pages 279-323.
    64. Caggese, Andrea & Cuñat, Vicente & Metzger, Daniel, 2019. "Firing the wrong workers: Financing constraints and labor misallocation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(3), pages 589-607.
    65. Liu, Guanchun & Liu, Yuanyuan & Ye, Yongwei & Zhang, Chengsi, 2021. "Collateral menus and corporate employment: Evidence from China's Property Law," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 686-709.
    66. Justin Chircop & Michele Fabrizi & Patrizia Malaspina & Antonio Parbonetti, 2023. "Anti‐Mafia Police Actions, Criminal Firms, and Peer Firm Tax Avoidance," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 61(1), pages 243-277, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shi, Xin & Zhou, Yuwen, 2025. "The effects of FinTech development on corporate employment," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    2. He, Siyi & Zeng, Ceng, 2026. "The effects of reduced availability of shadow banking financing: Evidence from employment," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    3. Fangfang Hou & Elisabetta Magnani & Xinpeng Xu, 2022. "International capital markets and domestic employment: Evidence from worldwide publicly listed large firms," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(1), pages 220-250, January.
    4. Shaojie Lai & Shiang Liu & Xiaoling Pu & Jianing Zhang, 2025. "The real effect of CDS trading: Evidence from corporate employment," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 25(1), March.
    5. Liu, Guanchun & Liu, Yuanyuan & Ye, Yongwei & Zhang, Chengsi, 2021. "Collateral menus and corporate employment: Evidence from China's Property Law," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 686-709.
    6. Bakhtiari, Sasan & Magnani, Elisabetta, 2025. "Firms’ liquidity and employment decisions: Evidence from Australia," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    7. Lai, Shaojie & Chen, Lihan & Wang, Qing Sophie & Anderson, Hamish D., 2023. "Bank competition and corporate employment: Evidence from the geographic distribution of bank branches in China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    8. Monteiro, Pedro & Suleymanov, Masim, 2025. "Government contracts and labor investment efficiency," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    9. Bruno Albuquerque, 2024. "Corporate debt booms, financial constraints, and the investment nexus," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(5), pages 766-789, August.
    10. Xie, Wenjun & Chen, Yao, 2025. "From marketing to manpower: Impact of advertising expenditures on employment," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 104(PA).
    11. Yuan, Zhengrong & Yu, Qiuzuo, 2025. "Shadow banking contraction and employment decisions in manufacturing firms: Empirical evidence from China's new asset management regulations," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 131-149.
    12. Julia Fonseca & Bernardus Van Doornik, 2020. "Financial Development and Labor Markets: evidence from Brazil," Working Papers Series 532, Central Bank of Brazil, Research Department.
    13. Moser, Christian & Saidi, Farzad & Wirth, Benjamin & Wolter, Stefanie, 2020. "Credit Supply, Firms, and Earnings Inequality," MPRA Paper 100371, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Chen, Xiaoxiong & Mu, Jinghao & Liu, Guanchun & Liu, Yuanyuan, 2024. "Bank liability structure and corporate employment: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PA).
    15. Marshall, Ben R. & Nguyen, Justin Hung & Nguyen, Nhut H. & Visaltanachoti, Nuttawat, 2021. "Does a change in the information environment affect labor adjustment costs?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    16. Liu, Guanchun & Liu, Yuanyuan & Zhang, Chengsi, 2022. "Tax enforcement and corporate employment: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    17. Bao, Hengmiao & Yang, Shijie, 2024. "Is there life after product quality failures? Evidence from employment decisions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 325-355.
    18. Rüdiger Fahlenbrach & Kevin Rageth & René M Stulz, 2021. "How Valuable Is Financial Flexibility when Revenue Stops? Evidence from the COVID-19 Crisis [The risk of being a fallen angel and the corporate dash for cash in the midst of COVID]," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 34(11), pages 5474-5521.
    19. Gregor Bäurle & Sarah M. Lein & Elizabeth Steiner, 2017. "Employment Adjustment and Financial Constraints - Evidence from Firm-level Data," Working Papers 2017-18, Swiss National Bank.
    20. Bäurle, Gregor & Lein, Sarah M. & Steiner, Elizabeth, 2021. "Employment adjustment and financial tightness – Evidence from firm-level data," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:finmgt:v:54:y:2025:i:2:p:237-269. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/fmaaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.