We estimate the impact of sporting events and franchises on local crime rates using the technique developed in Arellano and Bond (2001). For events, we consider the presence of Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Football League and National Hockey League franchises as well as whether a city held one of the respective championships, the Olympics, or World Cup matches. We find little to no evidence that sporting events or franchises are correlated with changes in either property or violent crime with two notable exceptions. The Olympics Games are associated with roughly a 10 per cent increase in property crimes while the Super Bowl is associated with a 2.5 per cent decrease in violent crime. On the whole, however, the presence of spectator sports does not seem to automatically carry with it any improvements in citywide criminal behaviour.

This paper examines trends in the socioeconomic well-being in rural counties where Black residents represent one third or more of the population. These racially diverse rural counties (RDRCs) are located exclusively in the rural South and generally have low levels of economic well-being. On a positive note, college education levels in RDRCs are found to have increased rapidly between 1990 and 2000. Regression analysis suggests that these increases were in part due to the concentration of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the region. Local investments in K-12 education are also found to be linked to county education levels.

Coastal communities cannot depend on funding from the state or federal government to maintain high-quality beaches that benefit the public and attract tourist revenues. This article investigates the feasibility and efficiency of beach improvement projects at two Georgia barrier islands through the alternative funding mechanisms of general-revenue financing and user fees. Benefits are calculated from an intensive, on-site survey of beach visitors, and the costs are calculated from observable sources. The analyses presented support beach improvement as an effective policy on both islands under all scenarios considered.