By clicking the "Accept" button or continuing to browse our site, you agree to first-party and session-only cookies being stored on your device to enhance site navigation and analyze site performance and traffic. For more information on our use of cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.
Exploiting plausibly exogenous variations in the timing of cancer
diagnoses, we establish that health shocks elicit a large and persistent
increase in the probability of committing a crime. This
effect materializes in a substantial rise in both first crimes and
re-offenses. We uncover evidence for two mechanisms. First, an
economic motive leads individuals to compensate the loss of legal
revenues with illegal earnings. Second, cancer patients face
lower expected cost of punishment through a lower survival probability.
Welfare programs that alleviate the economic repercussions
of health shocks are effective at mitigating the ensuing negative
externality on society.
