The effects of education on crime

W.N.J. Groot*, H. Maassen van den Brink

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

In this article, we use a unique data set on criminal behaviour to analyse the effects of education on offences and crimes committed. The findings suggest that substantial savings on the social costs of crime can be obtained by investing in education. We find that the probability of committing crimes like shop lifting, vandalism and threat, assault and injury decrease with years of education. The probability of committing tax fraud, however, increases with years of education. We further find that higher educated people have more permissive attitudes and social norms towards criminal behaviour.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)279-289
Number of pages11
JournalApplied Economics
Volume42
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2010

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