IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v104y2014icp220-227.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Violence as a public health problem: An ecological study of 169 countries

Author

Listed:
  • Wolf, Achim
  • Gray, Ron
  • Fazel, Seena

Abstract

Individual level risk factors for violence have been widely studied, but little is known about country-level determinants, particularly in low and middle-income countries. We hypothesized that income inequality, through its detrimental effects on social cohesion, would be related to an increase in violence worldwide, and in low and middle-income countries in particular. We examined country-level associations of violence with socio-economic and health-related factors, using crime statistics from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and indicators from the Human Development Report published by the United Nations Development Programme. Using regression models, we measured relationships between country-level factors (age, education, measures of income, health expenditure, and alcohol consumption) and four violent outcomes (including measures of violence-related mortality and morbidity) in up to 169 countries. We stratified our analyses comparing high with low and middle-income countries, and analysed longitudinal data on homicide and income inequality in high-income countries. In low and middle-income countries, income inequality was related to homicide, robbery, and self-reported assault (all p's < 0.05). In high-income countries, urbanicity was significantly associated with official assault (p = 0.002, β = 0.716) and robbery (p = 0.011, β = 0.587) rates; income inequality was related to homicide (p = 0.006, β = 0.670) and self-reported assault (p = 0.020, β = 0.563), and longitudinally with homicide (p = 0.021). Worldwide, alcohol consumption was associated with self-reported assault rates (p < 0.001, β = 0.369) suggesting public policy interventions reducing alcohol consumption may contribute to reducing violence rates. Our main finding was that income inequality was related to violence in low and middle-income countries. Public health should advocate for global action to moderate income inequality to reduce the global health burden of violence.

Suggested Citation

  • Wolf, Achim & Gray, Ron & Fazel, Seena, 2014. "Violence as a public health problem: An ecological study of 169 countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 220-227.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:104:y:2014:i:c:p:220-227
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.12.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953613006813
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.12.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Julio H. Cole & Andrés Marroquín Gramajo, 2009. "Homicide Rates in a Cross‐Section of Countries: Evidence and Interpretations," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 35(4), pages 749-776, December.
    2. Wilkinson, Richard G & Pickett, Kate E., 2006. "Income inequality and population health: A review and explanation of the evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(7), pages 1768-1784, April.
    3. Lance Lochner & Enrico Moretti, 2004. "The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, and Self-Reports," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 155-189, March.
    4. Edward L. Glaeser & Bruce Sacerdote, 1999. "Why Is There More Crime in Cities?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(S6), pages 225-258, December.
    5. Nadanovsky, Paulo & Cunha-Cruz, Joana, 2009. "The relative contribution of income inequality and imprisonment to the variation in homicide rates among Developed (OECD), South and Central American countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 1343-1350, November.
    6. Kawachi, I. & Kennedy, B.P. & Lochner, K. & Prothrow-Stith, D., 1997. "Social capital, income inequality, and mortality," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 87(9), pages 1491-1498.
    7. Fajnzylber, Pablo & Lederman, Daniel & Loayza, Norman, 2002. "Inequality and Violent Crime," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 45(1), pages 1-40, April.
    8. Peek-Asa, C. & Zwerling, C. & Stallones, L., 2004. "Acute traumatic injuries in rural populations," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 94(10), pages 1689-1693.
    9. Pickett, K.E. & Mookherjee, J. & Wilkinson, R.G., 2005. "Adolescent birth rates, total homicides, and income inequality in rich countries," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 95(7), pages 1181-1183.
    10. Milorad Kovacevic, 2010. "Review of HDI Critiques and Potential Improvements," Human Development Research Papers (2009 to present) HDRP-2010-33, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
    11. Sudhir Anand and Amartya Sen, 1994. "Human development Index: Methodology and Measurement," Human Development Occasional Papers (1992-2007) HDOCPA-1994-02, Human Development Report Office (HDRO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
    12. Wagenaar, A.C. & Tobler, A.L. & Komro, K.A., 2010. "Effects of alcohol tax and price policies on morbidity and mortality: A systematic review," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(11), pages 2270-2278.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Samantha C Winter & Lena Moraa Obara & Sarah McMahon, 2020. "Intimate partner violence: A key correlate of women’s physical and mental health in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(4), pages 1-18, April.
    2. Butcher, Fredrick & Galanek, Joseph D. & Kretschmar, Jeff M. & Flannery, Daniel J., 2015. "The impact of neighborhood disorganization on neighborhood exposure to violence, trauma symptoms, and social relationships among at-risk youth," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 300-306.
    3. Jayati Das-Munshi & Crick Lund & Catherine Mathews & Charlotte Clark & Catherine Rothon & Stephen Stansfeld, 2016. "Mental Health Inequalities in Adolescents Growing Up in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Cross-Sectional Survey, SHaW Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(5), pages 1-16, May.
    4. Chiara Lorini & Francesca Ierardi & Letizia Bachini & Martina Donzellini & Fabrizio Gemmi & Guglielmo Bonaccorsi, 2018. "The Antecedents and Consequences of Health Literacy in an Ecological Perspective: Results from an Experimental Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-14, April.
    5. Ryan, Megan & Gallagher, Stephen & Jetten, Jolanda & Muldoon, Orla T., 2022. "State level income inequality affects cardiovascular stress responses: Evidence from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    6. DeVerteuil, Geoffrey, 2015. "Conceptualizing violence for health and medical geography," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 216-222.
    7. Shellae Versey, H. & Cogburn, Courtney C. & Wilkins, Clara L. & Joseph, Nakita, 2019. "Appropriated racial oppression: Implications for mental health in Whites and Blacks," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 295-302.
    8. Sabina Alkire & Emma Samman, 2014. "Mobilising the Household Data Required to Progress toward the SDGs," OPHI Working Papers 72, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    9. Yukhnenko, Denis & Farouki, Leen & Fazel, Seena, 2023. "Criminal recidivism rates globally: A 6-year systematic review update," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pickett, Kate E. & Wilkinson, Richard G., 2015. "Income inequality and health: A causal review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 316-326.
    2. Michael Cauvel & Miguel Alejandro Sanchez, 2023. "Life Expectancy and the Labor Share in the U.S," Working Papers PKWP2308, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    3. Enamorado, Ted & López-Calva, Luis F. & Rodríguez-Castelán, Carlos & Winkler, Hernán, 2016. "Income inequality and violent crime: Evidence from Mexico's drug war," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 128-143.
    4. Povilas Lastauskas & Eirini Tatsi, 2017. "Spatial Nexus in Crime and Unemployement in Times of Crisis," Bank of Lithuania Working Paper Series 39, Bank of Lithuania.
    5. Grönqvist, Hans & Johansson, Per & Niknami, Susan, 2012. "Income inequality and health: Lessons from a refugee residential assignment program," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 617-629.
    6. Neil Metz & Mariya Burdina, 2018. "Neighbourhood income inequality and property crime," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(1), pages 133-150, January.
    7. Povilas Lastauskas & Eirini Tatsi, 2013. "Spatial Nexus in Crime and unemployment in Times of crisis: Evidence from Germany," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1359, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    8. Paolo Buonanno & Daniel Montolio Estivill, 2005. "Identifying the Socioeconomic Determinants of Crime in Spanish Provinces," Working Papers in Economics 138, Universitat de Barcelona. Espai de Recerca en Economia.
    9. Wilkinson, Richard G. & Pickett, Kate E., 2007. "The problems of relative deprivation: Why some societies do better than others," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(9), pages 1965-1978, November.
    10. Paolo Buonanno, 2006. "Crime and Labour Market Opportunities in Italy (1993–2002)," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 20(4), pages 601-624, December.
    11. Hartmann-Wendels, Thomas & Mählmann, Thomas & Versen, Tobias, 2009. "Determinants of banks' risk exposure to new account fraud - Evidence from Germany," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 347-357, February.
    12. Spencer P. Chainey & Gonzalo Croci & Laura Juliana Rodriguez Forero, 2021. "The Influence of Government Effectiveness and Corruption on the High Levels of Homicide in Latin America," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-18, May.
    13. Buonanno, Paolo & Montolio, Daniel, 2008. "Identifying the socio-economic and demographic determinants of crime across Spanish provinces," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 89-97, June.
    14. Kangoh Lee, 2018. "Unemployment and crime: the role of apprehension," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 59-80, February.
    15. Attari, Muhammad Qasim & Pervaiz, Dr. Zahid & Razzaq Chaudhary, Dr. Amatul, 2017. "Impact of Agricultural Land Inequality on Human Development in Punjab (Pakistan)," MPRA Paper 89070, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Montolio, Daniel & Planells-Struse, Simón, 2015. "When police patrols matter. The effect of police proximity on citizens’ crime risk perception," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 73-93.
    17. Demombynes, Gabriel & Ozler, Berk, 2005. "Crime and local inequality in South Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(2), pages 265-292, April.
    18. Altindag, Duha T., 2012. "Crime and unemployment: Evidence from Europe," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 145-157.
    19. Islam, M. Kamrul & Gerdtham, Ulf-G. & Gullberg, Bo & Lindström, Martin & Merlo, Juan, 2008. "Social capital externalities and mortality in Sweden," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 19-42, March.
    20. Georg Kanitsar, 2022. "The Inequality-Trust Nexus Revisited: At What Level of Aggregation Does Income Inequality Matter for Social Trust?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 171-195, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:104:y:2014:i:c:p:220-227. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.