By using 290 municipalities in Sweden, this thesis examines the relationship between crime rates and business outcomes, especially newly registered sole trader companies, newly registered joint-stock companies and the number of bankruptcies. The main goal with this research is to identify the impact of criminal activity on business development, or if the absence is reversed, that the business development has an effect on crime rates. This research is done by using panel data where I have included fixed effects and temporal dynamics variables to expose these interactions. 

The results suggest that certain crimes in the data have a significant impact on business outcomes. Significant lags indicate that increased crimes have a significant impact on the business outcome, also significant leads indicate that business activities can affect future crime rates.

This research indicates that reducing crime could advance business development and economic growth in Sweden. However, the thesis has limitations such as aggregated data and insists future research to use more complex data for deeper insight. Overall, this research highlights the relationship between crime rate and business outcomes, highlighting the need for suitable policies to reduce criminal activities.