Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/232654 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 13902
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We provide causal evidence of the impact of the Brexit referendum vote on hate crime in the United Kingdom (UK). Using various data sources, including unique data collected from the UK Police Forces by Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, and various estimation methods (difference-in-differences, event-study analysis and synthetic control methods), we find that the Brexit referendum led to an increase in hate crime by around 15-25%. This effect was concentrated in the first quarter after the referendum and was larger in areas that voted to leave the European Union (EU). We also provide evidence against the hypotheses that this was due to victims' greater willingness to report crimes or due to changes in police behaviour and perceptions of the victims. We also present suggestive evidence that the media and social media played a small but significant role in the increase in hate crime.
Subjects: 
hate crime
referendum vote
Brexit
synthetic control method
JEL: 
D72
J15
K42
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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