Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/90028 
Year of Publication: 
2013
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 7712
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We explore the link between parental selection and criminality of children in a new context. After the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, East Germany experienced a very large, but temporary, drop in birth rates mostly driven by economic uncertainty. We exploit this natural experiment in a differences-in-differences setup to first estimate that the children from these affected (smaller) cohorts are relatively much more likely to be criminally active. Using individual level data, we provide evidence that women who gave birth in at this period of uncertainty were negatively selected into fertility. Further investigation of the underlying mechanisms reveals that emotional attachment and intergenerational transmission of risk attitudes play important roles in the parental selection-crime of children relationship. Finally, results for siblings support a causal interpretation of our findings.
Subjects: 
crime
parental selection
fertility decision
economic uncertainty
risk attitude
JEL: 
J13
K42
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
421.93 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.