Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/201922 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 7696
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
The paper analyses the empirical relationship between immigrants and crime using panel data for 391 German administrative districts between 2003 and 2016. Employing different standard panel estimation methods, we show that there is no positive association between the immigrant rate and the crime rate. We assess the robustness of this result by considering the heterogeneity of immigrant groups with respect to gender, age, country of origin and – if applicable – refugee status, and study naturalized immigrants. We also take into account possible spillover effects of immigrants on criminal activities by Germans, omitted variables and spatial correlation. Furthermore, taking advantage of the panel-structure of the data set we employ an instrumental variable approach that deals with the possibly endogenous allocation of immigrants and allows for causal interpretation of the estimates. There is no evidence that immigrants increase crime.
Subjects: 
immigrants
crime
Germany
panel data
IV approach
JEL: 
F22
J15
K42
R10
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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