Victim Incentives and Criminal Activity: Evidence from Bus Driver Robberies in Chile

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Dominguez, Patricio
• 署名单位: Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0034-6535
• DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_00989
• 发表日期: 2022-09
• 页码: 946-961
• 关键词: crime; transantiago; SYSTEM; externalities; demand

摘要

This paper analyzes crime as a function of the interaction between offenders and victims. I study robbery of bus drivers, a crime that remains common in cities throughout the world. Exploiting the timing of a Chilean public transportation reform and detailed administrative data, I show how victims' propensity to resist an attack can alter the level and nature of criminal activity. I also find a large decline in crime after the implementation of a technological innovation that eliminated cash transactions on buses. My results suggest a strong relationship between victim incentives, cash, and crime.