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Working paper DEC 2014
  • Labour Market
  • The Social Sector
  • Labour Market, The Social Sector

The Effect of Workfare on Crime:

Incapacitation and Program Effects

Authors:

  • Peter Fallesen
  • Lars Pico Geerdsen
  • Susumu Imai
  • Torben Tranæs
  • Labour Market
  • The Social Sector
  • Labour Market, The Social Sector
In this paper, we estimate the effect of workfare policy on crime by exploiting two exogenous welfare policy changes in Denmark. Our results show a strong decline in the crime rate among treated unemployment uninsured men relative to untreated uninsured and unemployment insured men, and part of this decline can be identified as a direct effect of workfare participation. Moreover, we find that criminal activity was also reduced during weekends, when the workfare programs were closed, allowing us to distinguishing the pure program effect from the incapacitation effect. These results imply a strong and potentially lasting crime reducing effect of workfare policy.

Authors

  • Peter FallesenLars Pico GeerdsenSusumu ImaiTorben Tranæs

About this publication

  • Publisher

    IZA. Institute for the Study of Labor / Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit
VIVE – The Danish Centre for Social Science Research provides knowledge that contributes to developing the welfare society and strengthening quality development, efficiency enhancement and governance in the public sector, both in municipalities, regions and nationally.
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