The%20Impact%20of%20Legalized%20Abortion%20on%20Crime

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The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime

• By
• john J. Donohue Steven D. Levitt
• Presented by Ming Liu

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Introduction

• Drop in crime rate in 1990s
• Explanations for the drop in crime
• The relationship of legalization of abortion and
  the drop in Crime

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Structure of the Paper

• Brief history of abortion
• The relationship of legalization of abortion and
  the drop in crime
• Empirical evidence

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Brief Overview of the History of Legalized
Abortion

• The 1st law restricting abortions, 1828
• Abortion became illegal throughout the country,
  1900
• The 1st modest effort at abortion liberation,
  1967-1970
• Legal abortion in five states, 1970
• Legal abortion extended to the entire US, 1973
• Roe v. Wade

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Figure 1Total Abortions by Year
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The Mechanism By Which Abortion Legalization
Lowers Crime Rates

• Through smaller cohort size
• Abortion has negative effect on the births of
  those who are most at risk of engaging in
  criminal behavior
• Unwanted births and bad maternal background
• Optimize the timing of childbearing

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Empirical Evidence on Legalized Abortion
Affecting Crime Rates
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Figure 2 Crime Rates from the Uniform Crime
Reports, 1973-1999
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Figure 3 National Crime Victimization Survey,
1973-1998
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Effective Legalized Abortion Rate
Effective_AbortiontAbortiont-a(Arresta/Arresttot
al)
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Figure 4a Changes in Violent Crime and Abortion
rates,1985-1997
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Figure 4b Changes in Property Crime and Abortion
rates,1985-1997
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Figure 4c Changes in Murder and Abortion
rates,1985-1997
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Exclude outlier states
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The Impact of Abortion on Arrests by Age of
Offender
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TABLE VI The Impact of Abortion Rates on Arrests
by Age (All Values in the Table are Coefficients
on the Effective Abortion Rate (x100), Other
Coefficients are Not Reported)
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Conclusion

• Legalized abortion reducing the crime rate
• Crime rates will continue to fall because of the
  legalized abortion

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Thanks a lot!!!