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Title: The Effects of Lead Exposure on Violent Crime: Evidence from U.S. Cities in the Early Twentieth Century

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2014

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Abstract: In the second half of the nineteenth century, many American cities built water systems using lead or iron service pipes. Municipal water systems brought significant public health improvements, but these improvements may have been partially offset by the damaging effects of lead exposure through lead water pipes. We study the effect of cities' use of lead pipes on homicide between 1921 and 1936. Lead water pipes exposed the entire city population to much higher doses of lead than have previously been studied in relation to crime. Our results suggest that cities' use of lead service pipes increased city-level murder rates.

Url: http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/jfeigenbaum/files/feigenbaum_muller_lead_crime.pdf

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Authors: Feigenbaum, James J.; Muller, Christopher

Publisher: Harvard University

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Crime and Deviance, Health

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