Local Determinants of Crime: Do Military Bases Matter?

31 Pages Posted: 14 Nov 2010

See all articles by Alfredo R. Paloyo

Alfredo R. Paloyo

Rhine-Westphalia Institute for Economic Research (RWI-Essen); Ruhr University of Bochum; University of Wollongong

Colin Vance

RWI – Leibniz-Institute for Economic Research; Jacobs University Bremen

Matthias Vorell

Rhine-Westphalia Institute for Economic Research (RWI-Essen)

Date Written: October 1, 2010

Abstract

Using a unique panel dataset, we estimate the impact of the military base realignments and closures (BRACs) in Germany on the intensity of criminal activity surrounding the base. We use a fixed-effect model to account for time-invariant unobservables in our panel of 298 military bases for the period 2003-2007. We also take advantage of geographic information system software to mitigate estimation issues arising from the spatial nature of the dataset. Estimation results are presented for total crime and four other subcategories: breaking and entering, automobile-related crime, violent crime, and drug-related crime. The estimates indicate that there is no effect of BRACs on criminal activity surrounding the base. We also confirm existing findings in the literature on the determinants of crime.

Keywords: Armed forces; BRAC; deviant behavior; geographic information system

JEL Classification: H56, K42, R19

Suggested Citation

Paloyo, Alfredo R. and Vance, Colin and Vorell, Matthias, Local Determinants of Crime: Do Military Bases Matter? (October 1, 2010). Ruhr Economic Paper No. 211, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1708022 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1708022

Alfredo R. Paloyo (Contact Author)

Rhine-Westphalia Institute for Economic Research (RWI-Essen) ( email )

Hohenzollernstr. 1-3
Essen, 45128
Germany

Ruhr University of Bochum ( email )

Bochum, 44780
Germany

University of Wollongong ( email )

Northfields Avenue
Wollongong, New South Wales 2522
Australia

Colin Vance

RWI – Leibniz-Institute for Economic Research ( email )

Hohenzollernstr. 1-3
Essen, 45128
Germany
0049-201-8149-237 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.rwi-essen.de

Jacobs University Bremen ( email )

Campus Ring 1
Bremen, 28725
Germany

Matthias Vorell

Rhine-Westphalia Institute for Economic Research (RWI-Essen) ( email )

Hohenzollernstr. 1-3
Essen, 45128
Germany

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
108
Abstract Views
1,131
Rank
511,047
PlumX Metrics