Breaking Bad: The Effects of Health Shocks on Crime

Steffen Andersen, Gianpaolo Parise, Kim Peijnenburg

Research output: Other contributionNet publication - Internet publicationCommunication

Abstract

The demographics of criminality are changing, with the share of crimes committed by older adults rising in developed countries. This column uses administrative data from Denmark to better understand late-in-life determinants of crime – specifically, severe health shocks. It finds that a cancer diagnosis can incite criminal activity, and argues that social support should be made widely available to vulnerable segments of the population in the wake of the Covid health crisis, when even people with previously clean records could find themselves drawn into illegal behaviour.
Original languageEnglish
Publication date10 Apr 2021
Place of PublicationLondon
PublisherCentre for Economic Policy Research
Publication statusPublished - 10 Apr 2021

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