{"id":4045,"date":"2024-09-02T11:53:12","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T09:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/?p=4045"},"modified":"2024-09-02T11:53:12","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T09:53:12","slug":"helping-mothers-to-save-fathers-from-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2024\/09\/02\/helping-mothers-to-save-fathers-from-crime\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping Mothers to Save Fathers (from Crime)\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

In challenging contexts, becoming a parent can lead to a deterioration in individual behaviour. For example, in Brazil, it can result in an increase in crimes committed by fathers facing economic hardship. This is shown by research that reaches vastly different results, in comparison to those recorded in wealthy countries.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Becoming a parent is one of the most significant events in a person’s life and can lead to profound changes in individual behaviour. In particular, it could influence people’s attitudes toward following rules and engaging in illegal behaviour. Not surprisingly, one school of thought in sociology defines the birth of a child as a turning point that should reduce criminal behaviour. Parenthood should give an impetus towards conforming to social norms and make individuals more responsible. After all, parents are aware that their behaviour has important consequences for their children.<\/span><\/p>\n

But a Child Costs Money<\/b><\/h3>\n

However, having a child entails significant costs. According to Eurostat, 63% of Italian families report difficulty in making ends meet, which can be exacerbated by the costs of child-rearing. For example, a child in Italy has an average cost of 645 euros per month, according to 2020 estimates by the Bank of Italy. In developing countries, where families are poorer and the social safety net is weaker, becoming a parent can be further associated with conditions of poverty. Therefore, in contexts of extreme financial hardship, the birth of a child could indeed increase the likelihood that parents resort to crime to provide for their families. It seems evident that parents, when lacking other resources, may do anything for their family. This a theme that appears in famous novels, such as <\/span>Les Mis\u00e9rables<\/span><\/i>, where the protagonist Jean Valjean spends years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Effects of Childbirth on Parents’ Criminal Activities in Brazil<\/b><\/h3>\n

Depending on the circumstances, the birth of a child could either increase or decrease the risk that parents become involved in criminal activities. In a recent study (“Small Children, Big Problems: Childbirth and Crime”), my co-authors and I addressed this issue within the context of Brazil. We highlighted how the relationship between parenthood and crime is contextual, and how public policies providing financial support to parents can play a crucial role.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brazil is a large developing country, characterised by significant economic inequality and high levels of crime. More than a third of mothers with young children report difficulty in making a living, and over a quarter report food shortages. Our study uses data on millions of births to study the cause-and-effect relationship between becoming a parent and the likelihood of committing crimes. Birth data is linked to other data tracking criminal histories, family composition, and employment for over ten years.<\/span><\/p>\n

To estimate the causal effect of childbirth on crime, we trace the evolution of crime rates for people who have their first child at a given time\u2014the so-called “treatment group”\u2014and compare it with a “control group” of similar individuals who go on to have their first child a few years later. For each person in the treatment group, we ensure that the comparison is made with a later parent of the same age and gender, living in the same location, and having a child of the same gender (in social sciences this means “all else being equal”).<\/span><\/p>\n

The results for fathers are surprising: they show a sharp increase in the likelihood of being criminally prosecuted after the birth of the first child compared to the control group. They indicate that becoming a father in Brazil increases the likelihood of undergoing a criminal investigation by 18% in the two years following the birth. This effect is comparable to that of severe economic shocks: for example, another recent study of mine on Brazil shows that job loss increases crime rates by 23% for male workers.<\/span><\/p>\n

For mothers, however, the situation differs: a temporary decrease in criminal proceedings is recorded, more pronounced around the time of childbirth, which can perhaps be attributed to both the physical restrictions and time constraints associated with childbirth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our results indicate that parenthood leads to greater involvement of Brazilian fathers in criminal activities, in line with the idea that the birth of a child entails costs for families, which in turn can increase involvement in criminal activities.<\/span><\/p>\n

This idea is reinforced by several other findings. Firstly, the increase in criminal activity is driven by economically motivated crimes. Secondly, the increase is more substantial in families facing more significant economic difficulties, i.e., those where parents had low income or were unemployed even before the child’s conception. Thirdly, the increase is more substantial for younger parents, who tend to have lower incomes and less access to credit. Similarly, the fathers’ criminal behaviour shows a greater increase when parents were not cohabiting before the child’s conception. It is likely that, after the birth, these families also have to bear the costs of forming a new household. Finally, the criminal activities of fathers continue to increase with the birth of a second child, although this increase is less pronounced compared to the first child. This may be because the economic costs of the second child tend to be lower, since parents already live together and can reuse various items purchased for the first child.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our work also shows that there are no significant changes in the employment situation of fathers at the birth of the child: therefore, constraints seem to exist in the Brazilian labour market that do not allow fathers to quickly adjust their working conditions to meet the new family needs. Hence, some economically struggling fathers might resort to crime as a quick way to raise money.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mothers’ Behaviours<\/b><\/h3>\n

If our results are explained by family economic difficulties, why don’t crime rates increase for mothers? Crime in Brazil and other Latin American countries tends to be extremely violent, characterised by high homicide rates mostly caused by firearms. In Brazil, for every criminal proceeding against a woman, there are ten against men; in the United States, the ratio is one to two. It is, therefore, unlikely that mothers turn to crime to adjust their income.<\/span><\/p>\n

Becoming Parents in Rich and Poor Countries<\/b><\/h3>\n

What makes our findings on Brazil surprising is that they are very different from evidence from previous studies on rich countries. Recent studies, using detailed data covering millions of individuals in the United States, have found that the birth of a child leads to strong and persistent net reductions in parental arrests, reaching up to 20% for fathers and 50% for mothers in Washington State, for example.<\/span><\/p>\n

Such different results align with the idea that economic constraints have a greater impact in poorer countries: poverty is much more widespread in Brazil than in the United States, and the social safety net is weaker. However, our work does not lack evidence that Brazilian parents also behave more responsibly after the birth of their first child. In particular, we show that there are fewer hospitalisations due to accidents or assaults among Brazilian fathers. This means that Brazilians, when they become parents, reduce risky behaviours even if some may be more inclined to commit crimes to meet the needs of a growing family.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Importance of Subsidies for New Parents<\/b><\/h3>\n

The last part of our work concerns public policies. If the birth of a child leads to a significant increase in the likelihood that economically struggling fathers commit crimes, support measures for these families could play a preventive role in crime.<\/span><\/p>\n

In particular, we analyse a policy that offers a four-month maternity allowance to unemployed mothers. The amount of the transfer is quite substantial, close to the mother’s monthly salary in her previous job. To estimate its effects, we compare families where mothers just meet the eligibility criteria for the benefit with those where they do not. Our analysis shows that access to support by mothers significantly reduces the likelihood that fathers commit crimes. The maternity allowance thus appears to be a very effective measure to reduce the negative effects that parenthood has on crime in Brazil. On the other hand, it is a new confirmation of the hypothesis that fathers increase criminal activities due to economic constraints.<\/span><\/p>\n

In general, our analysis highlights that parenthood can lead to significant increases in criminal activity by fathers. It is likely that the same phenomena could be documented in other low- and middle-income countries characterised by higher levels of poverty, crime, and income inequality.<\/span><\/p>\n

The results of our research differ sharply from those found in previous studies on rich countries, where it has been shown that parenthood significantly reduces criminal activity. More than an intellectual curiosity, these are relevant results from a public policy perspective because they highlight the importance of targeted measures for economically disadvantaged parents. Finally, ours is the first evidence of the effects of childbirth on crime in a developing country. It would be interesting to investigate the effects on criminal activities of other policies aimed at parents, perhaps extending them to other developing countries.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bio<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

Diogo Britto is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Milano-Bicocca, a fellow of the Marco Fanno Association at UniCredit Foundation, and a research fellow at the CLEAN Center at Bocconi University.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In challenging contexts, becoming a parent can lead to a deterioration in individual behaviour. 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