TY  - BOOK
AU  - Prasad,Kislaya
TI  - Economic liberalization and violent crime
SN  - 00222186
AV  - HB73 JOU 
PY  - 2012///
CY  - Chicago
PB  - University of Chicago Press
KW  - Gross domestic product
KW  - India
KW  - Manufacturing output
KW  - Trade legislation
KW  - Trade restrictions
KW  - Violent crimes
N2  - I study the effect of economic liberalization on violent crime. The particular emphasis is on the case of India, where, in the years following 1991, there was a virtual dismantling of controls on entry and production in registered manufacturing. This was accompanied by a significant reduction in impediments to foreign trade and access to foreign exchange. Economic controls create an incentive for illegal trade, and a frequent by-product of illegal trade is violent crime. Consequently, violent crimes such as murders would be expected to decline following market-based reforms. Analysis of aggregate all-India data, as well as data at the state level, suggests that economic reforms did indeed lead to a reduction in violent crime. I extend the analysis to a panel of countries and find strong evidence that greater trade openness is negatively related to violent crime
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1086/666487
ER  -