Levitt And Dubner Analysis

Chapter 4. Levitt and Dubner argue that abortion was a main cause in reducing crime in the late 20th century compared to common conceptions. The chapter opens up by mentioning the Communist dictator of Romania, Nicolae Ceausescu, who outlawed abortion within the first few years of his reign while also banning contraception. The children born in the first years of the abortion ban scored lower in schools, had less career success, and more were prone to commit crimes than those born right before. One must note that both of these generations grew up under Ceausescu's rule. The chapter then turns to the major, unexpected drop in crime throughout the US in the 1980's. The authors aim to show how conventional answers are not necessarily the strongest by analyzing various explanations, including increased policing, a stronger economy, and the decline of the crack cocaine market.

Levitt and Dubner credit Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in 1973, as the factor which explained the gap left by common explanations. Their casual link is that the women who are most likely to get abortion are also more likely to be poor, teenage, and unfit to raise a child. These children, if not aborted, were a generation who could easily become criminals or teenage mothers. To further consolidate their point, Levitt and Dubner note that states which legalized abortion had their crime rates fall earlier, the crime drop was among the young, and that there was a direct correlation between abortion rate and crime reduction in various regions inclusive of other countries, regardless of the amount of crime