Does Immigration Increase Crime?: Migration Policy and the Creation of the Criminal Immigrant

Do migrants lead to an increase of crime rates in their host societies? This highly contentious issue has become a mainstay in the political debate and a lightning rod for the galvanization of populist movements, despite often lacking any empirical support. In this game-changing book, the authors examine what the existing data actually says, and provide their own novel evidence on the immigration-crime connection. Taking the unusual approach of analysing the subject from an economic perspective, the authors build on the pioneering work of Nobel Prize winner Gary Becker to construct their innovative arguments. By considering evidence from different countries, with a focus on establishing causal relationships, the authors are able to analyse not only if migrants do cause crime but also whether migration policies can play a role in shaping incentives for migrants to engage in crime. This book will appeal to students and academics across the social sciences, as well as citizens interested in this topical issue.

Table of Contents:
Introduction; 1. Immigration and crime: perceptions and reality; 2. Migration policy and crime in Italy; 3. Immigration and crime in the United Kingdom; 4. The case of the United States; 5. Refugee waves and crime: evidence from EU countries; Conclusion; Appendices; References.

About the Author :
Francesco Fasani is an Associate Professor at the School of Economics and Finance, Queen Mary University of London. He is a Research Affiliate at CEPR (Centre for Economic Policy Research) and a Research Fellow at CReAM (Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration) and IZA (Institute for the Study of Labor, Bonn). Giovanni Mastrobuoni is Carlo Alberto Chair at the Collegio Carlo Alberto and Professor in Economics at the University of Turin, ESOMAS, and at the University of Essex. He is a research fellow at  the Institute for the Study of Labor in Bonn and editor of The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy. Emily G. Owens is a Professor in the Department of Criminology, Law, and Society and the Department of Economics at the University of California, Irvine. She is an associate editor of the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, a senior research fellow at the Police Foundation, and a fellow of the Academy of Experimental Criminology. Paolo Pinotti is Endowed Associate Professor in Economic Analysis of Crime at the Department of Social and Political Sciences at Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, Milan. His other roles include Coordinator of Fondazione Rodolfo Debenedetti, Director of the CLEAN Unit on the economics of crime at the Baffi-Carefin Center, Senior Researcher at FBK-IRVAPP, Researcher at Dondena, and Associate Editor of the Journal of the European Economic Association.

Review :
'This excellent book pushes the research frontier by insisting on careful attention to the multiple policy levers available to countries when setting (and enforcing) immigration policy. Despite widely-held concerns of many citizens that immigrants drive crime rates up, in countries with long histories of substantial inflows of immigrants or where immigrants are legally allowed to work in the formal labor market, crime rates have not risen and, in some cases, have fallen. The broad implication that economic, policy, and cultural context can drive crime impacts makes this essential reading for everyone charged with developing immigration policy positions.' Anne Piehl, Director of the Program in Criminal Justice, Rutgers University '… the question of immigrant criminality as a component of overall immigrant value is salient, and this work contributes to the search for an answer, albeit in an extremely scholarly manner.' R. F. Zeidel, Choice