In this paper we examine the effect of subsidized oral contraceptives on youth crime rates throughout regions of Sweden. The basis for the study is the article by Donohue and Levitt (2001) which found a very strong link between the legalization of abortions and a drop in crime rates all over the USA. The hypothesis put forth by them is that, on the margin, abortions are mainly performed by the presumptive mothers that are in the worst situation for childcare and whose offspring therefore has the highest risk of criminal behaviour. This combined with earlier Swedish research on effects of subsidized oral contraception (Grönqvist 2013), which found a decrease in abortion rates and teen motherhood. We pose the question: Will subsidized contraceptives have a reducing effect on youth crime akin to the one found by Donohue and Levitt? The statistical exercises performed on the sample in this study show no link between subsidized oral contraception and crime. This holds for youth crimes in total, as well as for violent crime, crimes of theft and larceny, and crimes regarding narcotics.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-272709 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Sjöberg, Albin, Forslin, Jakob |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Nationalekonomiska institutionen, Uppsala universitet, Nationalekonomiska institutionen |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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