Effect of Workfare on Crime : Youth Diligence & Law Obedience

This paper focuses on a novel effect of active labor market policies: the effect of workfare on crime. First, the study examines how a series of Danish labor market reforms implemented between the late 1980s and the 1990s affected crime. The reforms introduced more rapid and extensive workfare requirements for unemployed without unemployment insurance, and are therefore useful for determining the effect of workfare on crime. Second, the paper investigates whether the crime-preventive impact of the reforms varies by individual labor market attachment. Third, the study examines whether the crime-reducing effect is weekday-specific, or also affects behavior during weekends when workfare programs are closed.