Can Social Safety Net Spending Prevent Crime?

This review considers recent evidence on the impact of the social safety net on crime and recidivism. The social safety net comprises means-tested public assistance (e.g., cash welfare, food assistance, disability assistance, public health insurance) and contributory social insurance (e.g., unemployment insurance). Dozens of recent studies, largely outside of criminology, evaluate the impact of shocks to the scope or generosity of social safety net programs. Findings from these natural experiments support the conclusion that public welfare policy has measurable benefits for public safety at both individual and aggregate levels. These benefits encompass property as well as violent crime and are observed over both immediate and extended time horizons. The review closes with a call for more criminological contributions to this growing literature.