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The changing relationship between income and crime victimization

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  • Steven D. Levitt

Abstract

This paper was presented at the conference "Unequal incomes, unequal outcomes? Economic inequality and measures of well-being" as part of session 3, " Education and crime in urban neighborhoods." The conference was held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on May 7, 1999. The author examines the changes in the relationship between income and crime victimization over time. He argues that the poor suffer disproportionately more from property crime today than they did twenty years ago, possibly because of the increased reliance on theft-prevention devices by higher income groups. The author also indicates that, in stark contrast to property come, homicide appears to have become more dispersed across income groups, at least based on neighborhood-level data for Chicago. For whites, neighborhood median family income is no longer a predictor of homicide victimization rates - a factor that may explain the increase in the fear of crime across income levels when the crime rate has actually fallen sharply. For blacks, the link between income and crime victimization is found to be only one-third as strong as it was in 1970.

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Bibliographic Info

Article provided by Federal Reserve Bank of New York in its journal Economic Policy Review.

Volume (Year): (1999)
Issue (Month): Sep ()
Pages: 87-98

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Handle: RePEc:fip:fednep:y:1999:i:sep:p:87-98:n:v.5no.3

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Keywords: Income ; Crime;

References

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  1. Edward L. Glaeser & Bruce Sacerdote & Jose A. Scheinkman, 1995. "Crime and Social Interactions," NBER Working Papers 5026, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  2. Gary S. Becker, 1968. "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 76, pages 169.
  3. Julie Berry Cullen & Steven D. Levitt, 1999. "Crime, Urban Flight, And The Consequences For Cities," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(2), pages 159-169, May.
  4. Soares, Rodrigo R., 2004. "Development, crime and punishment: accounting for the international differences in crime rates," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 155-184, February.
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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. Denis Fougère & Francis Kramarz & Julien Pouget, 2007. "Youth Unemployment and Crime in France," Working Papers 2007-33, Centre de Recherche en Economie et Statistique.
  2. Rafael Di Tella & Robert MacCulloch & Hugo Nopo, 2009. "Happiness and Beliefs in Criminal Environments," Research Department Publications 4605, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
  3. Daniel Mejía & María José Uribe, 2009. "Is Violence Against Union Members in Colombia Systematic and Targeted?," DOCUMENTOS CEDE 006147, UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES-CEDE.
  4. Rafael Di Tella & Sebastian Galiani & Ernesto Schargrodsky, 2010. "Crime Distribution and Victim Behavior during a Crime Wave," NBER Chapters, in: The Economics of Crime: Lessons for and from Latin America, pages 175-204 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  5. Rafael Di Tella & Sebastian Galiani & Ernesto Schargrodsky, 2006. "Crime Distribution & Victim Behavior During a Crime Wave," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp849, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
  6. William Savedoff, 2009. "A Moving Target: Universal Access to Healthcare Services in Latin America and the Caribbean," Research Department Publications 4606, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
  7. Chihiro Muroi & Robert Baumann, 2009. "The Non-Linear Effect of Wealth on Crime," Working Papers 0907, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.
  8. Ferda Halicioglu, 2012. "Temporal causality and the dynamics of crime in Turkey," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 39(9), pages 704-720, July.
  9. Gino, Francesca & Pierce, Lamar, 2009. "The abundance effect: Unethical behavior in the presence of wealth," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 109(2), pages 142-155, July.
  10. Guido Travaglini, 2003. "Property Crime and Law Enforcement in Italy. A Regional Panel Analysis 1980-95," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 62(2), pages 211-240, October.
  11. Rodrigo R. Soares, 2003. "The Welfare Cost of Violence (New Version: Corrected Calculations)," Law and Economics 0312003, EconWPA, revised 13 Sep 2004.

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