Examining the relationship between mortgage investment and neighborhood crime across investor characteristics

• In Event: WG-PLACE 7: Neighbourhoods and Crime

Abstract

External investment into communities is consistently linked to lower crime. Research has examined different types of investment (e.g., mortgage loans, public grants, or renovation loans) across different types of neighborhoods (e.g., disadvantaged, minority-dominated), but less attention has been paid to who is investing. Research has shown that investment into minority or disadvantaged neighborhoods is particularly impactful, but this may especially be the case when the homeowners’ characteristics align with the community, as their social connections, and consequently social control, may be stronger. In this study, we investigate whether characteristics of the investors such as income or racial/ethnic composition moderates the relationship between investment and crime. To do so, we use panel data on home purchase loans and violent and property crime incidents in Cleveland, OH, and assess whether increased investment through home loans affects crime over time. Importantly, we disaggregate by characteristics of the home purchasers, such as income-level or racial/ethnic composition, and explore whether the investment-crime relationship is conditioned by characteristics of the buyers.

Authors

• Lyndsay N Boggess, University of South Florida

• Alyssa Chamberlain, Arizona State University

• Thomas Stucky, Indiana University Indianapolis

• Lexi Gill, University of South Florida