Jose de Sousa

Deliver Us from Crime? Gig Jobs, Labor Market Opportunities, and Offending

Abstract:  We study how access to low-barrier gig work affects employment and crime. Using the staggered rollout of food-delivery platforms in France, we estimate difference-in-differences effects on labor-market outcomes and police-recorded offenses. Platform entry increases rider registrations, reduces unemployment, and lowers inactivity among groups with limited access to formal employment. Crime declines in treated areas, with sizable reductions in vandalism, petty theft, and drug offenses. Leveraging the minimum age requirement for delivery work, we show that effects are concentrated among eligible individuals. Overall, the findings indicate that expanding access to legal income opportunities can reduce low-skill offending.

Co-authors: Hugo Allouard, Grazia Cecere, Olivier Marie, and Ines Picard