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Job displacement and crime: Evidence from Norwegian register data

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  • Rege, Mari
  • Skardhamar, Torbjørn
  • Telle, Kjetil
  • Votruba, Mark

Abstract

We estimate the job displacement effect on criminal behavior for young adult Norwegian men separated from their plant of employment during a mass layoff. Displaced workers experience a 20 percent increase in criminal charge rates in the year of displacement, with effects declining thereafter. Effects are particularly large for property crimes, consistent with the idea that displaced workers turn to acquisitive crimes to replace lost earnings. However, effects are also sizable for violent and alcohol/drug-related crimes, indicating other mechanisms at work. We find strong evidence that displacement increases crime effects through the increased availability of time, and supportive evidence that psychological factors (mental distress, self-control) also play a role.

Suggested Citation

  • Rege, Mari & Skardhamar, Torbjørn & Telle, Kjetil & Votruba, Mark, 2019. "Job displacement and crime: Evidence from Norwegian register data," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:61:y:2019:i:c:s0927537119300879
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2019.101761
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    4. Hjalmarsson, Randi & Machin, Stephen & Pinotti, Paolo, 2024. "Crime and the labor market," Handbook of Labor Economics,, Elsevier.
    5. Lindgren, Petter Y. & Presterud, Ane Ofstad, 2021. "Expanding the Norwegian Armed Forces in the Time of Corona: Benefit-Cost Analysis in the Context of High Unemployment Rate," MPRA Paper 106405, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Celik, Ishak & Buker, Nicholas H. & Oswalt, Jasmine, 2025. "Weapon carrying among adolescents: a cross-sectional study of crime-related risk and protective factors," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • J65 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment Insurance; Severance Pay; Plant Closings
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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