Nilsson, Anna (Dept. of Economics, Stockholm University)
Abstract
The degree of income inequality in Sweden has varied substantially since the 1970s. This study analyzes whether this variation has affected the crime rate using a panel of Swedish county-level data for the period 1973–2000. We consider various measures of income inequality to evaluate which part of the distribution that matters most in determining crime rates. Our results indicate that there is a statistically significant positive effect of the proportion of the population with an income below 10 percent of median income on the incidence of property crime. Moreover, the unemployment rate has a positive effect on the incidence of the number of overall crime, auto thefts and robberies. The results look different for the violent crime category assault.
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Paper provided by Stockholm University, Department of Economics in its series Research Papers in Economics with number
2004:3.
Length: 33 pages Date of creation: 05 May 2004 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:hhs:sunrpe:2004_0003
Contact details of provider: Postal: Department of Economics, Stockholm, S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden Phone: +46 8 16 20 00 Fax: +46 8 16 14 25 Email: Web page: http://www.ne.su.se/ More information through EDIRC
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Find related papers by JEL classification: D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty J00 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - General K40 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - General
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References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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[Downloadable!]
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[Downloadable!] (restricted)
Ayse Imrohoroglu & Antonio Merlo & Peter Rupert, 2004.
"What Accounts For The Decline In Crime?,"
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