Welfare cuts and crime: evidence from the New Poor Law

0570703 - NHÚ 2024 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Melander, E. - Miotto, Martina
Welfare cuts and crime: evidence from the New Poor Law.
Economic Journal. Roč. 133, č. 651 (2023), s. 1248-1264. ISSN 0013-0133. E-ISSN 1468-0297
Institutional support: RVO:67985998
Keywords : welfare cuts * crime * New Poor Law
OECD category: Applied Economics, Econometrics
Impact factor: 3.2, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access
https://doi.org/10.1093/ej/ueac083

The New Poor Law reform of 1834 induced dramatic and heterogeneous reductions in welfare spending across English and Welsh counties. Using the reform in a difference-in-differences instrumental variables strategy, we document a robust negative relationship between the generosity of welfare provision and criminal activity. Results are driven by non-violent property crimes and are stronger during months of seasonal agricultural unemployment, highlighting the particularly criminogenic combination of welfare cuts and precarious work opportunities for the economically vulnerable.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0342027


Research data: Zenodo