Publication:
Can Public Works Programs Reduce Youth Crime?: Evidence from Papua New Guinea's Urban Youth Employment Project

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dc.contributor.authorIvaschenko, Oleksiy
dc.contributor.authorNaidoo, Darian
dc.contributor.authorNewhouse, David
dc.contributor.authorSultan, Sonya
dc.date.accessioned2017-04-26T21:53:27Z
dc.date.available2017-04-26T21:53:27Z
dc.date.issued2017-04
dc.description.abstractCrime rates in Papua New Guinea's capital city of Port Moresby are among the highest in the world. Few youth work, and good jobs are scarce. In 2013, the National Capital District Commission partnered with the World Bank to implement the Urban Youth Employment Project. The project offers out-of-school and out-of-work youth two months of public works employment or, for academically qualified candidates, six months of classroom and on-the-job training. This paper presents difference-in-difference estimates of project impacts on participants' social and criminal behavior, 12 to 18 months after completion. The control group consists of observably similar youth living in areas not served by the program. Project participants became less likely to hang out with friends at night, have a best friend involved in crime, and have friends involved in fights or robberies. The program also increased subsequent employment rates, and significantly reduced aggressive behavior and gratuitous property damage. However, there is little robust evidence that the program reduced participants' engagement in or exposure to crime. The study concludes that the program had strong and healthy effects on participants' peer group and behavior, but more limited effects on the socioeconomic causes of crime.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/417571492540309698/Can-public-works-programs-reduce-youth-crime-evidence-from-Papua-New-Guineas-urban-youth-employment-project
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-8032
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/26470
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherWorld Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Paper;No. 8032
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo
dc.subjectYOUTH EMPLOYMENT
dc.subjectPUBLIC WORK PROGRAMS
dc.subjectYOUTH CRIME
dc.subjectJOB TRAINING
dc.subjectPUBLIC WORKS
dc.subjectLABOR MARKET
dc.titleCan Public Works Programs Reduce Youth Crime?en
dc.title.subtitleEvidence from Papua New Guinea's Urban Youth Employment Projecten
dc.typeWorking Paperen
dc.typeDocument de travailfr
dc.typeDocumento de trabajoes
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crossref.titleCan Public Works Programs Reduce Youth Crime? Evidence from Papua New Guinea's Urban Youth Employment Project
okr.date.disclosure2017-04-18
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.doctypePublications & Research::Policy Research Working Paper
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/417571492540309698/Can-public-works-programs-reduce-youth-crime-evidence-from-Papua-New-Guineas-urban-youth-employment-project
okr.guid417571492540309698
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-8032
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum090224b084ad6ef1_1_0
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum27370864
okr.identifier.reportWPS8032
okr.importedtrue
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/417571492540309698/pdf/WPS8032.pdfen
okr.region.administrativeEast Asia and Pacific
okr.region.countryPapua New Guinea
okr.statistics.combined1694
okr.statistics.dr417571492540309698
okr.statistics.drstats1285
okr.topicSocial Development::Children and Youth
okr.topicSocial Development::Social Conflict and Violence
okr.topicSocial Protections and Labor::Child Labor
okr.topicSocial Protections and Labor::Labor Markets
okr.topicSocial Protections and Labor::Labor Policies
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Social Development & Poverty
okr.unitSocial Protection and Labor Global Practice Group; and the Poverty and Equity Global Practice Group
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
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