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Welfare costs of crime and common violence

Author

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  • Rodrigo R. Soares

Abstract

Purpose - – Negative effects of crime encompass several different dimensions. As a result, there is no existing methodology capable of dealing with all the relevant issues simultaneously and the interpretation of the estimates currently available lacks theoretical foundation. The purpose of this paper is to provide a unified view of the meaning and relationship between the various dimensions of the welfare cost of crime and violence available in the literature. Design/methodology/approach - – The paper develops a theoretical model of crime and illustrates the different interpretations of welfare costs of crime and violence within this unified framework. This theoretical benchmark is then used as a benchmark to review the empirical literature on the topic. Findings - – The analysis suggests that the most commonly estimated dimension of the welfare cost of crime − related to the total loss associated with crime − although relevant as an illustrative tool, is not very useful from a policy perspective. The literature should therefore move closer to the idea of estimating marginal costs and benefits in order to become policy relevant. Research limitations/implications - – Policy-oriented research related to optimal law enforcement should move in the direction of estimating the marginal willingness to pay of individuals for reductions in crime. This should be compared to the marginal cost of alternative policies in order to guide public policy in the area. Originality/value - – This survey rationalizes in economic terms the estimates from the existing methodologies, highlights some of their limitations, and points out potential directions for future research. It provides one of the first unified views of the various dimensions of welfare cost of crime and violence that have been presented in the literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Rodrigo R. Soares, 2015. "Welfare costs of crime and common violence," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 42(1), pages 117-137, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:jespps:v:42:y:2015:i:1:p:117-137
    DOI: 10.1108/JES-05-2012-0062
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ignacio Munyo & Martín A. Rossi, 2020. "Police‐Monitored Cameras and Crime," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 122(3), pages 1027-1044, July.
    2. Anna Bindler & Nadine Ketel, 2022. "Scaring or Scarring? Labor Market Effects of Criminal Victimization," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 40(4), pages 939-970.
    3. Janet Currie & Michael Mueller-Smith & Maya Rossin-Slater, 2022. "Violence While in Utero: The Impact of Assaults during Pregnancy on Birth Outcomes," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 104(3), pages 525-540, May.
    4. Sosso FEINDOUNO & Michaël GOUJON & Laurent WAGNER, 2016. "Indice de la Violence Interne : une mesure composite et quantitative de la violence et de la criminalité internes dans les pays en développement," Working Papers P151, FERDI.
    5. Sosso FEINDOUNO & Michaël GOUJON & Laurent WAGNER, 2016. "Internal Violence Index: a composite and quantitative measure of internal violence and crime in developing countries," Working Papers P151, FERDI.
    6. Dyer, Julian, 2023. "The fruits (and vegetables) of crime: Protection from theft and agricultural development," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    7. Magda Osman & Isabelle Mareschal & Emily Hannon, 2021. "Bundling violence: How do people trade-off combinations of violent acts?," Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy, Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE), vol. 5(1), pages 13-17, Septembre.
    8. Zhizhin, Leonid & Knorre, Alex & Kuchakov, Ruslan & Skougarevskiy, Dmitriy, 2023. "Cost of crime in Russia: A compensating variation approach," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 69, pages 91-120.

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