IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/toueco/v23y2017i5p993-1010.html

The impact of crime on the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises

Author

Listed:
  • Victor Motta

    (Pennsylvania State University, USA)

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are in the forefront of economic policy in developing economies, playing critical role in local economic growth and development. SMEs tend to serve local rather than global markets. However, several obstacles prevent greater participation of SMEs in the economy. Among them, crime is a major issue that negatively affects local development in developing countries, as robbery, theft, vandalism and arson increase the cost of doing business. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between crime and firm performance for Latin American SMEs in both service and hospitality sectors, using labor productivity as a measure of firm performance. Labor productivity is a key concern in Latin America as institution-related issues of corruption, infrastructure, regulations, trade policies, access to finance, and human capital may reduce the efficiency of firms in developing economies. The overall findings suggest that there is a negative relationship between criminal activity and firm performance for SMEs in Latin America.

Suggested Citation

  • Victor Motta, 2017. "The impact of crime on the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises," Tourism Economics, , vol. 23(5), pages 993-1010, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:toueco:v:23:y:2017:i:5:p:993-1010
    DOI: 10.1177/1354816616657940
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1354816616657940
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/1354816616657940?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James R. Tybout, 2000. "Manufacturing Firms in Developing Countries: How Well Do They Do, and Why?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(1), pages 11-44, March.
    2. Beck, Thorsten & Demirguc-Kunt, Asli, 2006. "Small and medium-size enterprises: Access to finance as a growth constraint," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(11), pages 2931-2943, November.
    3. Duha Altindag, 2014. "Crime and International Tourism," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 1-14, March.
    4. Daunt, Kate L. & Harris, Lloyd C., 2011. "Customers acting badly: Evidence from the hospitality industry," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(10), pages 1034-1042, October.
    5. Gary S. Becker, 1974. "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach," NBER Chapters, in: Essays in the Economics of Crime and Punishment, pages 1-54, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Morgan Kelly, 2000. "Inequality And Crime," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 82(4), pages 530-539, November.
    7. Asif Islam, 2014. "Economic growth and crime against small and medium sized enterprises in developing economies," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 677-695, October.
    8. Claudio Detotto & Edoardo Otranto, 2010. "Does Crime Affect Economic Growth?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(3), pages 330-345, August.
    9. Asif Islam & Mohammad Amin, 2016. "Women Managers and The Gender-Based Gap in Access to Education: Evidence from Firm-Level Data in Developing Countries," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(3), pages 127-153, July.
    10. Mauricio Olavarria-Gambi, 2007. "The Economic Cost of Crime in Chile," Global Crime, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(4), pages 287-310, November.
    11. Edward L. Glaeser & Stuart S. Rosenthal & William C. Strange, 2010. "Cities and Entrepreneurship," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number glae09-1, March.
    12. Krkoska Libor & Robeck Katrin, 2009. "Crime, Business Conduct and Investment Decisions: Enterprise Survey Evidence from 34 Countries in Europe and Asia," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 493-516, September.
    13. 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.
    14. Rosenthal, Stuart S. & Ross, Amanda, 2010. "Violent crime, entrepreneurship, and cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 135-149, January.
    15. BenYishay, Ariel & Pearlman, Sarah, 2014. "Crime and Microenterprise Growth: Evidence from Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 139-152.
    16. Meghana Ayyagari & Asli Demirgüç-Kunt & Vojislav Maksimovic, 2008. "How Important Are Financing Constraints? The Role of Finance in the Business Environment," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 22(3), pages 483-516, November.
    17. Tulio A. Cravo & Bettina Becker & Adrian Gourlay, 2015. "Regional Growth and SMEs in Brazil: A Spatial Panel Approach," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(12), pages 1995-2016, December.
    18. Harrison, Ann E. & Lin, Justin Yifu & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2014. "Explaining Africa’s (Dis)advantage," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 59-77.
    19. Nichter, Simeon & Goldmark, Lara, 2009. "Small Firm Growth in Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 1453-1464, September.
    20. Wubiao Zhou, 2014. "Regional institutional development, political connections, and entrepreneurial performance in China’s transition economy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 161-181, June.
    21. Bruhn, Miriam, 2009. "Female-owned firms in Latin America : characteristics, performance, and obstacles to growth," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5122, The World Bank.
    22. Ehrlich, Isaac, 1973. "Participation in Illegitimate Activities: A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(3), pages 521-565, May-June.
    23. Mirko Draca & Stephen Machin, 2015. "Crime and Economic Incentives," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 7(1), pages 389-408, August.
    24. Peres, Wilson & Stumpo, Giovanni, 2000. "Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Enterprises in Latin America and the Caribbean Under the New Economic Model," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(9), pages 1643-1655, September.
    25. Chioda, Laura & De Mello, João M.P. & Soares, Rodrigo R., 2016. "Spillovers from conditional cash transfer programs: Bolsa Família and crime in urban Brazil," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 306-320.
    26. Edward L. Glaeser & Stuart S. Rosenthal & William C. Strange, 2010. "Urban Economics and Entrepreneurship," NBER Chapters, in: Cities and Entrepreneurship, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    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. Yang Yang & Nan Hua, 2022. "Does hotel class moderate the impact of crime on operating performance?," Tourism Economics, , vol. 28(1), pages 44-61, February.

    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. Folorunsho M. Ajide & Olasupo I. Bankefa & Rufus A. Ajisafe, 2018. "Criminal Activities and Firms’ Market Power: Evidence from Nigerian Banking Industry," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 19(5), pages 1207-1223, October.
    2. André Filipe Guedes Almeida & Gabriel Caldas Montes, 2020. "Effects of crime and violence on business confidence: evidence from Rio de Janeiro," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 47(7), pages 1669-1688, May.
    3. Grabrucker, Katharina & Grimm, Michael, 2018. "Does crime deter South Africans from self-employment?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 413-435.
    4. Islam,Asif Mohammed, 2016. "An exploration of the relationship between police presence, crime, and business in developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7560, The World Bank.
    5. Diogo G. C. Britto & Paolo Pinotti & Breno Sampaio, 2022. "The Effect of Job Loss and Unemployment Insurance on Crime in Brazil," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 90(4), pages 1393-1423, July.
    6. Victor Motta, 2017. "Are SMEs in the hospitality industry less likely to experience credit constraint than other industries in the service sector? Evidence from Latin America," Tourism Economics, , vol. 23(7), pages 1398-1418, November.
    7. Altindag, Duha T., 2012. "Crime and unemployment: Evidence from Europe," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 145-157.
    8. Asif Islam, 2014. "Economic growth and crime against small and medium sized enterprises in developing economies," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 677-695, October.
    9. Victor Motta, 2020. "Lack of access to external finance and SME labor productivity: does project quality matter?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 119-134, January.
    10. Mejía, Daniel & Restrepo, Pascual, 2016. "Crime and conspicuous consumption," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 1-14.
    11. Corvalan, Alejandro & Pazzona, Matteo, 2019. "Persistent commodity shocks and transitory crime effects," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 110-127.
    12. Demombynes, Gabriel & Ozler, Berk, 2005. "Crime and local inequality in South Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(2), pages 265-292, April.
    13. Ishak, Phoebe W., 2022. "Murder nature: Weather and violent crime in rural Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    14. Satadru Das & Naci Mocan, 2020. "Analyzing The Impact Of The World'S Largest Public Works Project On Crime," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 58(3), pages 1167-1182, July.
    15. Yamamura, Eiji, 2009. "Formal and informal deterrents of crime in Japan: Roles of police and social capital revisited," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 611-621, August.
    16. Camille Hémet, 2013. "The Local Determinants of Victimization," AMSE Working Papers 1349, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France, revised 15 Oct 2013.
    17. Maribel Guerrero & David Urbano, 2020. "Institutional conditions and social innovations in emerging economies: insights from Mexican enterprises’ initiatives for protecting/preventing the effect of violent events," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 45(4), pages 929-957, August.
    18. Dongxu Wu & Zhongmin Wu, 2012. "Crime, inequality and unemployment in England and Wales," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(29), pages 3765-3775, October.
    19. Paolo Buonanno, 2003. "The Socioeconomic Determinants of Crime. A Review of the Literature," Working Papers 63, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Nov 2003.
    20. Lastauskas, Povilas & Tatsi, Eirini, 2017. "Spatial Nexus in Crime and Unemployment in Times of Crisis," Working Paper Series 2/2017, Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:sae:toueco:v:23:y:2017:i:5:p:993-1010. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.