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Martin Nordin . Photo

Martin Nordin

Policy officer

Martin Nordin . Photo

Does Eligibility for Tertiary Education Affect Crime Rates? Quasi-Experimental Evidence

Author

  • Martin Nordin

Summary, in English

Objectives: This paper estimates the effect of tertiary education eligibility on crime in Sweden. The hypothesis tested is that continuing to higher education decreases crime rates since it allows young people to escape inactivity and idleness, which are known to trigger crime. However, to qualify for tertiary education, individuals have to meet the eligibility requirements in upper-secondary school. Tertiary education eligibility may therefore affect crime rates. Methods: This paper uses a panel data set of 287 Swedish municipalities over the period 1998–2010 to estimate the tertiary education eligibility effect on crime. However, estimating educational effects on crime is challenging, because investment in education is an endogenous decision. In Sweden, substantial grade inflation, increased tertiary education eligibility by more than 6% points between 1998 and 2003. Thus, since the eligibility increase is exogenous to the educational achievements of a student cohort, i.e. not accompanied by a corresponding knowledge increase, we can use the increase to identify the effect of tertiary education eligibility on crime. Results: It is found that increasing the tertiary education eligibility rate decreases both property and violent crime substantially. Conclusions: The results show that when young people have the opportunity to attend tertiary education, and thus escape unemployment or inactivity, their propensity to commit crime decreases.

Department/s

  • Department of Economics

Publishing year

2018-09

Language

English

Pages

805-829

Publication/Series

Journal of Quantitative Criminology

Volume

34

Issue

3

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Springer

Topic

  • Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Anthropology, Demography and Criminology)

Keywords

  • Attendance
  • Crime
  • Education
  • Tertiary eligibility

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0748-4518