Seasonal agricultural activity and crime. Issue 2 (1st September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Charlton, Diane; James, Alexander; Smith, Brock
• Is Part Of: American journal of agricultural economics. Volume 104:Issue 2(2022)
• Page Start: 530
• Page End: 549
• Publication Date: 2021-09-01
• Subjects: crime -- farm workers -- immigration -- seasonal agriculture -- seasonal employment; Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- Periodicals; Agriculture -- Periodicals; 338.105
• DOI: 10.1111/ajae.12260
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0002-9092

Abstract

Abstract: Sudden shocks to labor demand have sometimes been shown to increase local crime rates. We build on this literature by estimating the causal effect of labor‐intensive seasonal agricultural activity on crime. We analyze a unique data set that describes criminal activity and fruit, vegetable, and horticultural (FVH) employment by month and U.S. county from 1990 to 2016. We find that the FVH labor share is associated with reduced property and violent crime rates, and possibly the number of property crimes committed within county years. Examining heterogeneities based on ethnicity, labor‐intensive FVH activity decreases the rate of non‐Hispanic arrests and victimization, and increases the number of Hispanic arrests and victims (consistent with rising local Hispanic populations). Taken together, results are broadly consistent with the idea that agricultural harvest of labor‐intensive crops enhances local labor market opportunities that reduce incentives to commit crimes. Results are robust to a battery of alternative specifications that address the inherent challenges associated with measuring seasonal agricultural labor.