PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Andrea Velásquez
TI  - The Economic Burden of Crime
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.55.4.0716-8072R2
DP  - 2020 Oct 02
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 1287--1318
VI  - 55
IP  - 4
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/55/4/1287.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/55/4/1287.full
SO  - J Hum Resour2020 Oct 02; 55
AB  - I estimate the impact of the recent and unprecedented surge in drug-related violence in Mexico on the labor market outcomes of Mexican workers. Using a nationally representative longitudinal data set that allows me to account for unobserved time-invariant heterogeneity, I find that there is a negative relationship between local violence and labor market outcomes. Self-employed individuals are the most sensitive to a violent environment, with men experiencing significantly reduced earnings and productivity, while women decrease their hours of work or exit the labor force entirely. I also find suggestive evidence that fear of victimization plays an important role explaining these changes.