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Lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility: Consequences for juvenile crime and education

Author

Listed:
  • Anna Piil Damm

    (Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University, Denmark)

  • Britt Østergaard Larsen

    (The Danish Centre for Applied Social Science)

  • Helena Skyt Nielsen

    (Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University, Denmark)

  • Marianne Simonsen

    (Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University, Denmark)

Abstract

This paper exploits a Danish policy reform combined with population-wide administrative registers to investigate whether being above the minimum age of criminal responsibility deters juveniles from crime. We study young individuals’ tendency to commit crime as well as their likelihood of recidivism by exploiting police records on offenses committed by the population of children and youth, including those below the minimum age of criminal responsibility. The reform lowered the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 14 years. We find that the reform did not deter 14-year-olds from committing crime. Moreover, conditional on committing crime in the first place, youths affected by the lower minimum age of criminal responsibility were more likely to recidivate and less likely to be enrolled in the 9th grade, just as they have lower grades at the 9th grade exit exam, conditional on participating. The latter results are consistent with labeling effects of processing in the criminal justice system.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Piil Damm & Britt Østergaard Larsen & Helena Skyt Nielsen & Marianne Simonsen, 2017. "Lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility: Consequences for juvenile crime and education," Economics Working Papers 2017-10, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
  • Handle: RePEc:aah:aarhec:2017-10
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    File URL: https://repec.econ.au.dk/repec/afn/wp/17/wp17_10.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Anna Bindler & Randi Hjalmarsson & Nadine Ketel & Andreea Mitrut, 2024. "Discontinuities in the Age-Victimisation Profile and the Determinants of Victimisation," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 134(657), pages 95-134.
    2. Rune V. Lesner & Anna Piil Damm & Preben Bertelsen & Mads Uffe Pedersen, 2018. "Life Skills Development of Teenagers through Spare-Time Jobs," Economics Working Papers 2018-09, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Juvenile delinquency; sanctions; general deterrence; individual deterrence; labeling effects;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K14 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Criminal Law
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education

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