-sale price causes metal thefts to increase (decrease) by one to 1.5 percent. We show that the relationship between prices and … on metal theft in the Czech Republic, we study thieves' behavior in a simple regression framework. We argue that … variation in metal prices represents a quasi-experimental variation in gains from crime. It is because (i) people steal copper …

and other nonferrous metals to sell them to a scrap yard. Simultaneously, the prices at scrap yards are set at the world … market. We argue, that shocks in metal prices represent a quasi-experimental variation in gains from crime. This allows us to … that the long-run elasticity of supply of metal thefts with respect to the re-sale value of stolen metal is between unity …

set by the world market. We argue that shocks in metal prices represent a quasi-experimental variation in gains from crime … behavior. Our estimates suggest that the long-term elasticity of supply of metal thefts with respect to the re-sale value of … stolen metal is between unity and 1.5. Moreover, the system tends to equilibriate quickly — between 30 and 60 percent of a …