Want to reduce violent crime? Reduce childhood exposure to lead.

This is a really interesting report. Childhood exposure to lead is closely associated with an increase in violent crime two decades later. (LEAD ABATEMENT from Kevin Drum.)

The study shows that where lead exposure is reduced, violent crime twenty years later is sharply reduced. It also shows that there were two periods in the twentieth century in which Americans faced sharply increased exposure to lead. First was when the use of lead in household paint increased sharply at the turn of the 20th century, and the second was when the use of lead-based gasoline was sharply increased after WW II. In each case, violent crime increased sharply twenty years later.

As Kevin says, the post is a bit boring, but well-worth the time it takes to read.