Quaderni del dipartimento di economia politica e statistica

An important however understudied challenge in the crime literature is to isolate the causal effect of police presence on crime displacement. Following the announcements of Brazil as the host of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and of the city of Rio de Janeiro as the host of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the Government of Rio de Janeiro launched the Favela Pacification Program. The program consists in the expulsion of criminals from some favelas (pacified favelas), territories usually controlled by gangs. Using data on homicide rates across Rio de Janeiro before and after the starting date of the Favela Pacification Program, I find that it displaces crime from pacified to non-pacified favelas. JEL: K42