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dc.titleEducation and Crime Prevention: Impacts, Mechanisms, and Policy Implications for Latin America and the Caribbean
dc.contributor.authorPrada, María Fernanda
dc.contributor.authorRodríguez, Catherine
dc.contributor.authorSánchez Torres, Fabio
dc.contributor.authorDuarte, Diego A.
dc.contributor.authorAlvarez Rojas, Angelica Del Pilar
dc.contributor.orgunitEducation Division
dc.coverageBrazil
dc.coverageColombia
dc.coverageChile
dc.coverageMexico
dc.coverageEl Salvador
dc.coverageTrinidad and Tobago
dc.coverageGuatemala
dc.coverageHonduras
dc.coverageJamaica
dc.coverageEcuador
dc.coverageDominican Republic
dc.coverageUruguay
dc.coverageLatin America
dc.coverageThe Caribbean
dc.date.available2026-11-09T00:11:00
dc.date.issue2026-11-09T00:11:00
dc.description.abstractDrawing on evidence from a broad range of policies and interventions including compulsory schooling reforms, improvements in school quality, early childhood education, extended school days, extracurricular programs, summer employment programs, and conditional cash transfers this paper systematically reviews the causal evidence on the relationship between education and crime to inform policy design in Latin America and the Caribbean. The review covers 81 studies and organizes the evidence into nine categories of educational policies and programs. It compares effects across crime outcomes, examines the mechanisms through which the interventions operate, and, when possible, summarizes their costs and cost-effectiveness. Overall, educational interventions tend to reduce criminal involvement, although their effectiveness varies substantially across policies and outcomes. The literature points to multiple mechanisms beyond the traditional channels of higher opportunity costs of crime and incapacitation, including socio-emotional skill development, peer effects, and household dynamics. However, relatively few studies examine the economic returns to educational interventions or incorporate crime-reduction benefits into cost-benefit analyses, which may lead to an underestimation of their social value. Finally, the evidence base is heavily concentrated in the United States, highlighting the need for more rigorous research in underrepresented regions and greater attention to contextual factors that may influence policy effectiveness. The paper concludes with policy recommendations for the region, emphasizing implementation conditions, targeting criteria, and priorities for future research.
dc.format.extent92
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0014599
dc.identifier.urlhttps://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Education-and-Crime-Prevention-Impacts-Mechanisms-and-Policy-Implications-for-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean.pdf
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherInter-American Development Bank
dc.subjectEducational Institution
dc.subjectCrime and Violence
dc.subjectCrime and Violence Prevention
dc.subjectPopulation Aging
dc.subjectArrest
dc.subjectCriminal Activity
dc.subjectHigh School
dc.subjectChildren
dc.subjectCrime Prevention
dc.subject.jelcodeI21 - Analysis of Education
dc.subject.jelcodeK42 - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
dc.subject.keywordscrime prevention;violence prevention;Education;Education policy;Juvenile crime;Incarceration;Causal evidence;Systematic review;Socio-Emotional Skills;Incapacitation;human capital;early childhood education;school dropout;Compulsory schooling;Extended School Day;Conditional cash transfers;Summer youth employment programs;School discipline;Grade retention;cost-benefit analysis
dc.typeWorking Papers
idb.identifier.pubnumberIDB-WP-01860
idb.operationRG-T4461
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