Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/324356 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 17958
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Research on the social safety net examines its effects on recipients and their families. We show that these effects extend beyond recipients' families. Using a regression discontinuity design and administrative data, we study a Danish policy that cut welfare benefits for refugees, increasing crime among affected individuals. Linking refugees to neighbors, we find increased crime among non-Danish neighbors, with spillovers persisting even after direct effects stabilize. Accounting for these spillovers raises the marginal value of public funds by 20%. We explore several mechanisms and find evidence consistent with peer effects among young individuals from the same country of origin.
Subjects: 
spillovers
welfare programs
crime
JEL: 
I38
K42
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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