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Poverty and crime in 19th century Germany: A reassessment

Author

Listed:
  • Christian Traxler

    (Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn)

  • Carsten Burhop

    (Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn and University of Cologne)

Abstract

Using panel data for Prussia during 1882 to 1910, we replicate Mehlum, Miguel, and Torvik’s (2006) study on the causal effect of poverty on crime in 19th century Germany. In addition, our data set allows us to make several original contributions to the literature. We confirm the robust positive effect of poverty on property crime. Employing the rye price as a proxy for poverty, we show that the effect is less pronounced for provinces with a large agricultural sector. As Mehlum et al., we also find a strong negative impact of poverty on violent crime. However, once we account for beer consumption, this effect vanishes.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian Traxler & Carsten Burhop, 2010. "Poverty and crime in 19th century Germany: A reassessment," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2010_35, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    • Handle: RePEc:mpg:wpaper:2010_35
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. 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.
    2. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, April.
    3. Mehlum, Halvor & Miguel, Edward & Torvik, Ragnar, 2006. "Poverty and crime in 19th century Germany," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(3), pages 370-388, May.
    4. James H. Stock & Motohiro Yogo, 2002. "Testing for Weak Instruments in Linear IV Regression," NBER Technical Working Papers 0284, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Stephen G. Donald & Kevin Lang, 2007. "Inference with Difference-in-Differences and Other Panel Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(2), pages 221-233, May.
    6. Raphael, Steven & WINTER-EBMER, RUDOLF, 1998. "Identifying the Effect of Unemployment on Crime," University of California at San Diego, Economics Working Paper Series qt5hb4h56g, Department of Economics, UC San Diego.
    7. Markowitz, Sara, 2005. "Alcohol, Drugs and Violent Crime," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 20-44, March.
    8. Keith Finlay & Leandro M. Magnusson, 2014. "Bootstrap Methods for Inference with Cluster-Sample IV Models," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 14-12, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    9. Broadberry, Stephen & Burhop, Carsten, 2010. "Real Wages and Labor Productivity in Britain and Germany, 1871–1938: A Unified Approach to the International Comparison of Living Standards," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 70(2), pages 400-427, June.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Vincent Bignon & Eve Caroli & Roberto Galbiati, 2011. "Stealing to Survive: Crime and Income Shocks in 19th Century France," PSE Working Papers halshs-00623804, HAL.
    2. Mahesh Malvika, 2020. "The Effect of Remittances on Crime in India," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-18, March.
    3. Vincent Bignon & Eve Caroli & Roberto Galbiati, 2017. "Stealing to Survive? Crime and Income Shocks in Nineteenth Century France," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(599), pages 19-49, February.
    4. repec:dau:papers:123456789/7249 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Anna Bindler & Randi Hjalmarsson, 2021. "The Impact of the First Professional Police Forces on Crime [State Capacity and Economic Development: A Network Approach]," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 19(6), pages 3063-3103.
    6. Chambru, Cédric, 2020. "Weather shocks, poverty and crime in 18th-century Savoy," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    7. Amjad Ali & Chan Bibi, 2020. "Public Policies, Socio-Economic Environment And Crimes In Pakistan: A Time Series Analysis," Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 9(1), pages 1-11, March.
    8. Stefan Oliver Houpt & Juan Carlos Rojo Cagigal, 2014. "Relative deprivation and labour conflict during Spain’s industrialization: the Bilbao estuary, 1914–1936," Cliometrica, Journal of Historical Economics and Econometric History, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC), vol. 8(3), pages 335-369, September.
    9. Diego De la Fuente, 2024. "Remittance Income and Crime in Mexico," Working Paper Series 1024, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Crime; Poverty; rye price; beer; weather; Prussia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • N93 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - Europe: Pre-1913

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    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

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