Posted Content•
Inequality and crime
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider the relationship between inequality and crime using data from urban counties and find that inequality has no effect on property crime but a strong and robust impact on violent crime, with an elasticity above 0.5.
Abstract: This paper considers the relationship between inequality and crime using data from urban counties. The behavior of property and violent crime are quite different. Inequality has no effect on property crime but a strong and robust impact on violent crime, with an elasticity above 0.5. By contrast, poverty and police activity have significant effects on property crime, but little on violent crime. Property crime is well explained by the economic theory of crime, while violent crime is better explained by strain and social disorganization theories.
Citations
More filters
Posted Content•
TL;DR: A theme of the text is the use of artificial regressions for estimation, reference, and specification testing of nonlinear models, including diagnostic tests for parameter constancy, serial correlation, heteroscedasticity, and other types of mis-specification.
Abstract: Offering a unifying theoretical perspective not readily available in any other text, this innovative guide to econometrics uses simple geometrical arguments to develop students' intuitive understanding of basic and advanced topics, emphasizing throughout the practical applications of modern theory and nonlinear techniques of estimation. One theme of the text is the use of artificial regressions for estimation, reference, and specification testing of nonlinear models, including diagnostic tests for parameter constancy, serial correlation, heteroscedasticity, and other types of mis-specification. Explaining how estimates can be obtained and tests can be carried out, the authors go beyond a mere algebraic description to one that can be easily translated into the commands of a standard econometric software package. Covering an unprecedented range of problems with a consistent emphasis on those that arise in applied work, this accessible and coherent guide to the most vital topics in econometrics today is indispensable for advanced students of econometrics and students of statistics interested in regression and related topics. It will also suit practising econometricians who want to update their skills. Flexibly designed to accommodate a variety of course levels, it offers both complete coverage of the basic material and separate chapters on areas of specialized interest.
4,284 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated whether changes in relative material standards of living between the SCs/STs and upper castes were associated with changes in the incidence of crimes against SCs and STs.
Abstract: Crimes against the historically marginalized Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC and ST) by the upper castes in India represent an extreme form of prejudice and discrimination. In this paper, we investigate whether changes in relative material standards of living between the SCs/STs and upper castes – as measured by the ratio of consumption expenditures of SCs/STs to that of upper castes – are associated with changes in the incidence of crimes against SCs/STs. Based on the hierarchical social structure implied by the caste system, we posit that an increase in the expenditure ratio is positively correlated with the incidence of crimes committed by the upper castes against the lower castes. Using official district level crime data for the period 2001–2010, we find a positive association between crimes and expenditure of SC/ST vis-a-vis the upper castes. Further, distinguishing between violent and non-violent crimes, we find it is the violent crimes that are responsive to changes in economic gaps. Moreover, this relationship is on account of changes in the upper castes’ economic well-being rather than changes in the economic position of the SCs and STs.
71 citations
01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: The second from the Centre's strand of comparative research as mentioned in this paper complements an earlier WBL research report (Education, Equity and Social Cohesion: A Distributional Model) in exploring further themes of societal comparison and the distributional effects of education systems.
Abstract: This report, the second from the Centre's strand of comparative research, complements an earlier WBL research report (Education, Equity and Social Cohesion: A Distributional Model) in exploring further themes of societal comparison and the distributional effects of education systems. Despite generally high levels of educational attainment there is huge diversity amongst Western Societies in terms of crime, tolerance, trust and social cohesion. In this report, we take a comparative approach to investigating relationships between education and these outcomes at a societal level. Through an interdisciplinary review of literatures from sociology, history, economics and psychology we examine the role of education systems from a number of countries in influencing trends in, and levels of, these variables. Whilst the importance of country and historical context is stressed throughout we arrive at some general conclusions concerning the role of education systems in the development of various forms of social cohesion. This report will be of interest to policy makers, researchers and practitioners who are interested in the social impact of education systems. In particular, we examine implications for current UK policy targeted at increasing national educational attainment.
26 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide causal evidence that this process of suburbanization can be explained by the rise of violent crime in city centers by proposing a new instrument to exogenously predict violent crime.
Abstract: In the post World War II period, most U.S. cities experienced large movements of population from the city centers to the suburbs. In this paper we provide causal evidence that this process of suburbanization can be explained by the rise of violent crime in city centers. We do so by proposing a new instrument to exogenously predict violent crime. This instrument uses as time variation the U.S. national levels of lead poisoning. Cross-sectional variation comes from a proxy for soil quality, which explains the fate of lead in soil and its subsequent bioavailability. Using data for more than 300 U.S. cities, results show that the increase in violent crime from the level in 1960 to its maximum in 1991 decreased the proportion of people living in city centers by 15 percentage points. This increase in crime moved almost 25 million people to the suburbs. As a result of suburbanization, we find that people remaining in the city center are more likely to be black people, consistent with the “white flight" phenomenon. We then demonstrate that this suburbanization process had aggregate effects on the city. Exploiting a spatial equilibrium model, we determine that violent crime had externalities on productivity and amenities.
19 citations
DOI•
01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: Examination of the relationship between drug-related crimes in high-risk, rural Virginia counties and efforts to reduce them with a particular focus on a cost-benefit analysis of expenditures found strategies that build on traditional approaches to reduce substance use and addiction are most effective.
Abstract: THE IMPACT OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN HIGH RISK, RURAL VIRGINIA COUNTIES Charlette Tenise Woolridge The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between drug-related crimes in high-risk, rural Virginia counties (Brunswick County and Grayson County) and efforts to reduce them with a particular focus on a cost-benefit analysis of expenditures. Four independent variables were assessed in relation to drug-related crime: expenditures associated with (1) drug abuse prevention and (2) drug abuse treatment, (3) economic development, and (4) education. Drug abuse prevention and drug abuse treatment are traditional approaches to address the drug use and crime relationship, while economic development and education represent social determinants of health (economic and social factors that impact the health of people in communities). The literature suggests that strategies that build on traditional approaches to reduce substance use and addiction, while simultaneously addressing social determinants of health, are most effective at mitigating the drug use/crime relationship. The following demographic variables were also analyzed: unemployment rates, educational achievement, homeownership rates, median household income, and poverty rates. The theoretical framework used in this research was Paul Goldstein‘s tripartite framework for explaining the drug use/violent crime relationship (psychopharmacological violence, economic compulsive violence, and systemic violence). Exploratory, descriptive and explanatory research designs were employed for examining the relationship between drug-related crimes and amelioration efforts in the areas of drug abuse prevention/treatment, economic development, and education. The research used a variety of secondary data amassed by local, state and federal governments, including basic demographic information, homeownership rates,
13 citations
References
More filters
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the social consequences of low self-control in criminal events and individual propensities: age, gender, and race, as well as white-collar crime.
Abstract: Preface Part I. Crime: 1. Classical theory and the idea of crime 2. The nature of crime Part II. Criminality: 3. Biological positivism 4. Psychological, economic, and sociological positivism 5. The nature of criminality: low self-control Part II. Applications of the Theory: 6. Criminal events and individual propensities: age, gender, and race 7. The social consequences of low self-control 8. Culture and crime 9. White-collar crime 10. Organization and crime Part IV. Research and Policy: 11. Research design and measurement 12. Implications for public policy Index.
7,154 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that racial segregation is crucial to explaining the emergence of the urban underclass during the 1970s and that a strong interaction between rising rates of poverty and high levels of residential segregation explains where, why and in which groups the underclass arose.
Abstract: This article argues that racial segregation is crucial to explaining the emergence of the urban underclass during the 1970s. A strong interaction between rising rates of poverty and high levels of residential segregation explains where, why and in which groups the underclass arose. This argument is developed with simulations that replicate the economic conditions observed among blacks and whites in metropolitan areas during the 1970s but assume different conditions of racial and class segregation. These data show how a simple increase in the rate of minority poverty leads to a dramatic rise in the concentration of poverty when it occurs within a racially segregated city. Increases in poverty concentration are, in turn, associated with other changes in the socioeconomic character of neighborhoods, transforming them into physically deteriorated areas of high crime, poor schools, and excessive mortality where welfare-dependent, female-headed families are the norm. Thus, policies to solve the socioeconomic pr...
5,621 citations
Book•
28 Sep 1998TL;DR: The authors combine theory and practice to make sophisticated methods of analysis accessible to researchers and practitioners working with widely different types of data and software in areas such as applied statistics, econometrics, marketing, operations research, actuarial studies, demography, biostatistics and quantitative social sciences.
Abstract: Students in both social and natural sciences often seek regression methods to explain the frequency of events, such as visits to a doctor, auto accidents, or new patents awarded. This book, now in its second edition, provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of models and methods to interpret such data. The authors combine theory and practice to make sophisticated methods of analysis accessible to researchers and practitioners working with widely different types of data and software in areas such as applied statistics, econometrics, marketing, operations research, actuarial studies, demography, biostatistics and quantitative social sciences. The new material includes new theoretical topics, an updated and expanded treatment of cross-section models, coverage of bootstrap-based and simulation-based inference, expanded treatment of time series, multivariate and panel data, expanded treatment of endogenous regressors, coverage of quantile count regression, and a new chapter on Bayesian methods.
4,849 citations
TL;DR: Merton, Robert as discussed by the authors, 1968. "Social Structure and Anomie", in Social Theory and Social Structure. New York: Free Press: 185-214. Translation:
Abstract: Translation: Merton, Robert. 1968. "Social Structure and Anomie", in Merton, Robert. Social Theory and Social Structure. New York: Free Press: 185-214.
4,350 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: A theme of the text is the use of artificial regressions for estimation, reference, and specification testing of nonlinear models, including diagnostic tests for parameter constancy, serial correlation, heteroscedasticity, and other types of mis-specification.
Abstract: Offering a unifying theoretical perspective not readily available in any other text, this innovative guide to econometrics uses simple geometrical arguments to develop students' intuitive understanding of basic and advanced topics, emphasizing throughout the practical applications of modern theory and nonlinear techniques of estimation. One theme of the text is the use of artificial regressions for estimation, reference, and specification testing of nonlinear models, including diagnostic tests for parameter constancy, serial correlation, heteroscedasticity, and other types of mis-specification. Explaining how estimates can be obtained and tests can be carried out, the authors go beyond a mere algebraic description to one that can be easily translated into the commands of a standard econometric software package. Covering an unprecedented range of problems with a consistent emphasis on those that arise in applied work, this accessible and coherent guide to the most vital topics in econometrics today is indispensable for advanced students of econometrics and students of statistics interested in regression and related topics. It will also suit practising econometricians who want to update their skills. Flexibly designed to accommodate a variety of course levels, it offers both complete coverage of the basic material and separate chapters on areas of specialized interest.
4,284 citations