Is there a compensating wage differential for high crime levels? First evidence from Europe

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Urban Economics
Year: 2009
Volume: 66
Issue: 3
Pages: 218-231

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 1 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper investigates whether high regional crime levels lead to a compensating wage differential paid by firms in the respective region. Using data from German social-security records, official police statistics and official statistics for 2003-2006, I consider both violent and non-violent crimes and use three-way error-components estimators to control for individual and regional heterogeneity. The findings suggest that wages are practically unrelated to changes in crime rates. This result is robust over a wide range of subgroups. There is, however, some evidence that crime rates influence land prices.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:juecon:v:66:y:2009:i:3:p:218-231
Journal Field
Urban
Author Count
1
Added to Database
2026-01-24