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The interiorization of Brazilian violence, policing, and economic growth

Author

Listed:
  • Geoffrey M. Steeves

    (Department of Economics, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil)

  • Francis Carlo Petterini

    (Department of Economics, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil)

  • Guilherme V. Moura

    (Department of Economics, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil)

Abstract

Brazilian homicide rates are among the highest in the world, inclusive of actual war zones. However, the character of Brazil's violence is changing. Recent analyses highlight a trend of dispersion of violence such that homicide rates in urban areas, traditionally the most violent places, have stagnated and declined while smaller cities and rural areas experienced a marked increase. An incipient explanation is that this trend is related to greater economic dynamism in the smaller cities, unaccompanied by increased policing. This article's empirical analysis uses locational Hoover indexes to express the dispersions of violence and economic activity, and also generates a proxy to measure the geographic concentration of police forces. Using panel data across all 26 states from 1995 to 2011, we find evidence of a correlation between dispersion of violence and GDP to less urban areas, and ambiguous results regarding police concentration.

Suggested Citation

  • Geoffrey M. Steeves & Francis Carlo Petterini & Guilherme V. Moura, 2015. "The interiorization of Brazilian violence, policing, and economic growth," Economia, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics], vol. 16(3), pages 359-375.
    • Handle: RePEc:anp:econom:v:16:y:2015:3:359_375
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Barros, Pedro Henrique Batista de & Baggio, Isadora Salvalaggio & Stege, Alysson Luiz & Hilgemberg, Cleise Maria de Almeida Tupich, 2019. "Economic development and crime in Brazil: a multivariate and spatial analysis," Revista Brasileira de Estudos Regionais e Urbanos, Associação Brasileira de Estudos Regionais e Urbanos (ABER), vol. 13(1), pages 1-22, June.
    2. Francis Petterini & Akauã Flores, 2021. "Copula econometrics to simulate effects of private policing on crime," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 41(3), pages 1241-1254.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Homicides; Violence dissemination; Hoover index;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy

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