Affiliation:
1. University of Cologne and University of Gothenburg
2. University of Gothenburg
Abstract
Abstract
This paper evaluates the effect on crime of creating a fundamental modern-day institution: centralized professional police forces tasked with preventing crime. We study the 1829 formation of the London Metropolitan Police—the first professional force worldwide. Using newly digitized and geocoded crime and police data together with difference-in-differences and pre–post designs, we find evidence of a significant reduction in violent crimes (despite the possibility of offsetting increases in clearance and reporting rates). In contrast, a reduction in property crime is not visible.
Funder
Vetenskapsrådet
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
University of Gothenburg
University of Bologna
University of Cologne
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Subject
General Economics, Econometrics and Finance
Reference47 articles.
1. State Capacity and Economic Development: A Network Approach;Acemoglu;American Economic Review,2015
2. Improving Police Performance in Rajasthan, India: Experimental Evidence on Incentives, Managerial Autonomy and Training;Banerjee;American Economic Journal: Economic Policy,2021
3. Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach;Becker;Journal of Political Economy,1968
4. State Capacity, Conflict, and Development;Besley;Econometrica,2010
5. Stealing to Survive? Crime and Income Shocks in Nineteenth Century France;Bignon;Economic Journal,2017
Cited by
10 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献，注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献，订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献