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The credibility revolution in the empirical analysis of crime

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  • Pinotti, Paolo

Abstract

I review recent developments in the economic analysis of crime, focusing in particular on organized crime and corruption. I first discuss the main challenges to the empirical identification of causal relationships -- namely, measurement error due to endogenous reporting of crime and the fact that randomized controlled trials are rarely an option when studying crime. I then discuss recent advancements made possible by the combination of detailed micro-data and quasi-experimental methods.

Suggested Citation

  • Pinotti, Paolo, 2020. "The credibility revolution in the empirical analysis of crime," CEPR Discussion Papers 14850, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:14850
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Giacomo Battiston & Gianmarco Daniele & Marco Le Moglie & Paolo Pinotti, 2022. "Fueling Organized Crime: The Mexican War on Drugs and Oil Thefts," "Marco Fanno" Working Papers 0286, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche "Marco Fanno".
    2. Sofia Amaral & Gordon B. Dahl & Victoria Endl-Geyer & Timo Hener & Helmut Rainer, 2023. "Deterrence or Backlash? Arrests and the Dynamics of Domestic Violence," NBER Working Papers 30855, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Forgione, Antonio Fabio & Migliardo, Carlo, 2023. "Mafia risk perception: Evaluating the effect of organized crime on firm technical efficiency and investment proclivity," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    4. Giovanni Bernardo & Irene Brunetti & Mehmet Pinar & Thanasis Stengos, 2021. "Measuring the presence of organized crime across Italian provinces: a sensitivity analysis," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 31-95, February.
    5. Raphael Bruce & Alexsandros Cavgias & Luis Meloni, 2022. "Policy Enforcement in the Presence of Organized Crime: Evidence from Rio de Janeiro," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2022_22, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP).
    6. Cavgias, Alexsandros & Bruce, Raphael & Meloni, Luis, 2023. "Policy enforcement in the presence of organized crime: Evidence from Rio de Janeiro," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economics of crime; Measurement error; Identification; Quasi-experiments;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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