The Effect of Adult Entertainment Establishments on Sex Crime: Evidence from New York City

Abstract In this paper we study how the presence of adult entertainment establishments affects the incidence of sex crimes. We build a high-frequency daily and weekly panel that combines the exact location of non-self-reported sex crimes with the day of opening and exact location of adult entertainm...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Economic journal (London) Vol. 132; no. 641; pp. 147 - 198
Main Authors Ciacci, Riccardo, Sviatschi, María Micaela
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford University Press 01.01.2022
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Summary:Abstract In this paper we study how the presence of adult entertainment establishments affects the incidence of sex crimes. We build a high-frequency daily and weekly panel that combines the exact location of non-self-reported sex crimes with the day of opening and exact location of adult entertainment establishments in New York City. We find that these businesses decrease sex crime by 13% per police precinct one week after the opening, and have no effect on other types of crime. The results suggest that the reduction is mostly driven by potential sex offenders frequenting these establishments rather than committing crimes.
ISSN:0013-0133
1468-0297
DOI:10.1093/ej/ueab042