The Effect of Segregation on Crime Rates

David Bjerk, McMaster University and RAND

In this paper I examine the relationship between segregation (both racial and economic) and crime. In order to control for the potential endogenity of segregation (of either type) with respect to crime, I instrument for segregation using information regarding the manner in which public housing assistance is allocated in each city, as well as variables relating to the structure of local public finance in each city. The results of this analysis indicate that greater segregation (of either type) appears to have very different effects across different types of crimes. Specifically, greater segregation appears to have very little impact on basic property crimes such as larceny and motor vehicle theft, but slightly lowers burglary rates. However, the strongest results indicate that greater segregation appears to lead to large and significant increases in the rate of violent crimes such as aggravated assault and robbery.