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Reducing Crime and Violence: Experimental Evidence on Adult Noncognitive Investments in LiberiaChristopher BlattmanColumbia University - School of International & Public Affairs (SIPA); Columbia University - Department of Political Science; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD); Center for Global Development; Innovations for Poverty Action; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) Julian C. JamisonConsumer Financial Protection Bureau - Research Department Margaret SheridanHarvard Medical School/Boston Children's Hospital May 15, 2015 Abstract: We show self control and self image are malleable in adults, and that investments in them reduce crime and violence. We recruited criminally-engaged Liberian men and randomized half to eight weeks of group cognitive behavioral therapy, teaching self control skills and a noncriminal self-image. We also randomized $200 grants. Cash raised incomes and reduced crime in the short-run but effects dissipated within a year. Therapy increased self control and noncriminal values, and acts of crime and violence fell 20-50%. Therapy's impacts lasted at least a year when followed by cash, likely because cash reinforced behavioral changes via prolonged practice.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 76 Keywords: noncognitive skills, crime, violence, poverty, cash transfers, field experiment, Liberia, rehabilitation, self control, social identity JEL Classification: O12, J22, K42, D03 Date posted: April 18, 2015 ; Last revised: May 16, 2015Suggested CitationContact Information
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