No abstract

Do inequality, unemployment and deterrence affect crime over the long run? Regional Studies. This paper investigates the long-run relationship between crime, inequality, unemployment and deterrence using US state-level data from 1978 to 2013. The novelty is to use non-stationary panels with a factor structure. The results show that: (1) a crime-theoretical model fits the long-run relationship well; (2) income inequality and unemployment have a positive impact on crime, whereas that of deterrence is negative; (3) the effect of income inequality on crime is larger when inequality is measured on a wider population proportion; and (4) property crime is generally highly sensitive to the deterrence effect of police

This paper aims to investigate the long-run relationship between crime, inequality, unemployment and deterrence using state-level data for the US over the period . The novelty of the paper is to use non-stationary panels with factor structures. The results show that: i) a simple crime model well fits the long run relationship; ii) income inequality and unemployment have a positive impact on crime, whereas deterrence displays a negative sign; iii) the effect of income inequality on crime is large in magnitude; iv) property crime is generally highly sensitive to deterrence measures based upon police activities. KeywordsCrime, deterrence, inequality, unemployment, panel cointegration, cross-section dependence This paper aims to investigate the long-run relationship between crime, inequality, unemployment and deterrence using state-level data for the US over the period . The novelty of the paper is to use non-stationary panels with factor structures. The results show that: i) a simple crime model well fits the long run relationship; ii) income inequality and unemployment have a positive impact on crime, whereas deterrence displays a negative sign; iii) the e↵ect of income inequality on crime is large in magnitude; iv) property crime is generally highly sensitive to deterrence measures based upon police activities. JEL Codes C33, E20, K40