Hur påverkar eftergymnasial utbildning brottslighet? : En studie av svenska län för perioden 2000-2008

How does higher education affect crime? This thesis examines the effect of post-secondary education on crime of violence and property related crime. Our first hypothesis is that a higher education level reduces crime of violence through higher opportunity costs and that psychological factors are affected in a positive way. Our second hypothesis is that a higher education level raises the return of property related crimes and therefore increases the same. This is due to more knowledge to be used for planning and execution of this type of crime and that the available property is assumed to be of a greater magnitude, which in turn leads to higher incentives for property related crime. The relationships are being econometrically analyzed with panel data consisting of observations of the 21 Swedish regions over the time period 2000 to 2008. The method of Prais-Winsten estimation is used to estimate a linear relationship, controlling for variables such as demographic and labor market effects. The results show that a higher education level has a significant negative effect on crime of violence. Furthermore we find that the effect of a higher education level on property related crime is significantly positive.