Opening a prostitution zone decreases registered sexual abuse and rape by about 30−40 pct in the first 2 years

Street Prostitution Zones and Crime. Paul Bisschop, Stephen Kastoryano, and Bas van der Klaauw. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 2017, 9(4): 28–63. https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.20150299

Abstract: 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 tippel-zones, 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.

JEL J16, J47, K42