Bisschop, P., Kastoryano, S. and van der Klaauw, B. (2017). Street prostitution zones and crime American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 9(4):28--63.
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Affiliated authorsStephen Kastoryano, Bas van der Klaauw
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Publication year2017
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JournalAmerican Economic Journal: Economic Policy
This paper studies the effects of legal street prostitution zones on registered and perceived crime. We exploit a unique setting in the Netherlands where these tippelzones were opened in nine cities under different regulation systems. Our difference-in-difference analysis of 25 Dutch cities between 1994-2011 shows that opening a tippelzone decreases registered sexual abuse and rape by about 30-40 percent in the first two years. For cities which enforced licensing in tippelzones, we also find reductions in drug-related crime and long-term effects on sexual assaults. Effects on perceived drug nuisance depend on the regulation system and the proximity of respondents to the tippelzone.