Citation

Reyes JW. NBER Work. Pap. Ser. 2007; 2007(online): w13097.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, National Bureau of Economic Research)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Childhood lead exposure can lead to psychological deficits that are strongly associated with aggressive and criminal behavior. In the late 1970s in the United States, lead was removed from gasoline under the Clean Air Act. Using the sharp state-specific reductions in lead exposure resulting from this removal, this article finds that the reduction in childhood lead exposure in the late 1970s and early 1980s is responsible for significant declines in violent crime in the 1990s, and may cause further declines into the future. The elasticity of violent crime with respect to lead is estimated to be approximately 0.8.