Series
Upjohn Institute working paper ; 14-212
**Published Version**
In American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 7(2): 175-206
DOI
10.17848/wp14-212
Issue Date
January 2014
Abstract
We exploit exogenous variation in legal status following the January 2007 European Union enlargement to estimate its effect on immigrant crime. We difference out unobserved time-varying factors by 1) comparing recidivism rates of immigrants from the “new” and “candidate” member countries and 2) using arrest data on foreign detainees released upon a mass clemency that occurred in Italy in August 2006. The timing of the two events allows us to set up a difference-in-differences strategy. Legal status leads to a 50 percent reduction in recidivism and explains one-half to two-thirds of the observed differences in crime rates between legal and illegal immigrants.
Subject Areas
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES; Immigration
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Citation
Mastrobuoni, Giovanni and Paolo Pinotti. 2014. "Legal Status and the Criminal Activity of Immigrants." Upjohn Institute Working Paper 14-212. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. https://doi.org/10.17848/wp14-212