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  3. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
  4. April 2015
  5. Legal Status and the Criminal Activity of Immigrants

Legal Status and the Criminal Activity of Immigrants

  • Giovanni Mastrobuoni
  • Paolo Pinotti
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 7, no. 2, April 2015
(pp. 175-206)
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Abstract

We exploit exogenous variation in legal status following the January 2007 European Union enlargement to estimate its effect on immigrant crime. We difference out unobserved time-varying factors by (i) comparing recidivism rates of immigrants from the "new" and "candidate" member countries; and (ii) using arrest data on foreign detainees released upon a mass clemency that occurred in Italy in August 2006. The timing of the two events allows us to setup a difference-in-differences strategy. Legal status leads to a 50 percent reduction in recidivism, and explains one-half to two-thirds of the observed differences in crime rates between legal and illegal immigrants. (JEL F22, K42, C41)

Citation

Mastrobuoni, Giovanni, and Paolo Pinotti. 2015. "Legal Status and the Criminal Activity of Immigrants." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 7 (2): 175-206. DOI: 10.1257/app.20140039

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • C41 Duration Analysis; Optimal Timing Strategies
  • F22 International Migration
  • K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
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