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Understanding the determinants of crime

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  • Ayse İmrohoroĝlu
  • Antonio Merlo
  • Peter Rupert

Abstract

In this paper, we use an overlapping generations model where individuals are allowed to engage in both legitimate market activities and criminal behavior in order to assess the role of certain factors on the property crime rate. In particular, we investigate if differences in the unemployment rate, fraction of low human capital individuals in an economy, apprehension probability, duration of a jail sentence, and income inequality could be capable of generating large differences in crime rates that are observed across countries. We find that small differences in the apprehension probability and income inequality can generate quantitatively significant differences in the crime rates across similar environments. Copyright Springer 2006

Suggested Citation

  • Ayse İmrohoroĝlu & Antonio Merlo & Peter Rupert, 2006. "Understanding the determinants of crime," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 30(2), pages 270-284, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jecfin:v:30:y:2006:i:2:p:270-284
    DOI: 10.1007/BF02761491
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ritika Jain & Shreya Biswas, 2021. "The road to safety- Examining the nexus between road infrastructure and crime in rural India," Papers 2112.07314, arXiv.org.
    3. Lim, King Yoong & Morris, Diego, 2020. "The economics of the illicit drugs-for-guns trade and growth," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 218-232.
    4. Cerro, Ana María & Rodríguez Andrés, Antonio, 2011. "Typologies of Crime in the Argentine Provinces. A Panel Study 2000-2008," MPRA Paper 44460, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Konov, Joshua Ioji / JK, 2011. "Piercing the Veil’s Effect on Corporate Human Rights Violations & International Corporate Crime (Human Trafficking, Slavery, etc)," MPRA Paper 35714, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Pengfei Jia & King Yoong Lim, 2021. "The stabilization role of police spending in a neo‐Keynesian economy with credit market imperfections," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 68(1), pages 103-125, February.
    7. Baharom, A.H. & Habibullah, M.S., 2008. "Crime and Income Inequality: The Case of Malaysia," MPRA Paper 11871, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. King Yoong Lim & Pengfei Jia & Ali Raza, 2018. "Crime, Human Capital, and the Impact of Different Taxation," Working Papers 220851234, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    9. Bethencourt, Carlos & Kunze, Lars, 2014. "On the intergenerational nature of criminal behavior," MPRA Paper 58344, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Neanidis, Kyriakos C. & Papadopoulou, Vea, 2013. "Crime, fertility, and economic growth: Theory and evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 101-121.
    11. Jiang, Hongze & Liang, Pinghan, 2021. "Less Cash, Less Theft? Evidence from Fintech Development in the People’s Republic of China," ADBI Working Papers 1282, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    12. King Yoong Lim & Pengfei Jia, 2019. "Police spending and economic stabilization in a monetary economy with crime and differential human capital," NBS Discussion Papers in Economics 2019/02, Economics, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University.
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    14. Abdul Hamid, Baharom & Habibullah, Muzafar & Mohd Noor, Zaleha, 2013. "Crime and Its Socio-Macroeconomics Determinants: A Panel-Error-Correction Cointegration Analysis," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 47(2), pages 13-24.
    15. Cerro, Ana Maria & Michel Rivero, Andrés, 2012. "Business cycles and crime. the case of Argentina," MPRA Paper 44515, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Bethencourt, Carlos, 2022. "Crime and social expenditure: A political economic approach," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    17. Latimaha, Rusli & Ismail, Nor Asmat, 2019. "Examining the Linkages between Street Crime and Selected State Economic Variables in Malaysia: A Panel Data Analysis," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 53(1), pages 59-72.
    18. Najmeh Izadi, 2012. "The Effect of Income Inequality on Property Crime: Evidence from Iran," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 4(5), pages 245-251.
    19. Pengfei Jia & King Yoong Lim & Ali Raza, 2020. "Crime, different taxation, police spending and embodied human capital," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 88(5), pages 664-698, September.
    20. Edward Nissan & Shahdad Naghshpour, 2013. "Connecting corruption to ethnic polarization and religious fractionalization," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 40(6), pages 763 - 774, November.

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