TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Jinkins, David Carson
AU  - Kuka, Elira
AU  - Labanca, Claudio
        TI  - Welfare Programs and Crime Spillovers
        PY  - 2025/Jun/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 17958
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp17958
        AB  - Research on the social safety net examines its effects on recipients and their families. We show that these effects extend beyond recipients’ families. Using a regression discontinuity design and administrative data, we study a Danish policy that cut welfare benefits for refugees, increasing crime among affected individuals. Linking refugees to neighbors, we find increased crime among non-Danish neighbors, with spillovers persisting even after direct effects stabilize. Accounting for these spillovers raises the marginal value of public funds by 20%. We explore several mechanisms and find evidence consistent with peer effects among young individuals from the same country of origin.
        KW  - spillovers
KW  - welfare programs
KW  - crime
        ER  -