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Crime and labour market opportunities in Italy (1993-2002)

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  • Paolo Buonanno

    (Department of Economics, University of Bergamo)

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between labour market conditions and crime in Italy accounting for both age and gender in unemployment measure and considering regional disparities between North-Centre and South of Italy. Using regional data over the period 1993-2002, we study the impact of wages and unemployment on different types of crime. To mitigate omitted-variables bias we control extensively for demographic and socioeconomic variables. Empirical results suggest that unemployment has a large and positive effect on crime rate in southern regions. Our results are robust to model specification, endogeneity, changes in the classification of crimes and finally, to alternative definitions of unemployment.

Suggested Citation

  • Paolo Buonanno, 2005. "Crime and labour market opportunities in Italy (1993-2002)," Working Papers (-2012) 0504, University of Bergamo, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:brg:wpaper:0504
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    Cited by:

    1. Maria Cracolici & Teodora Uberti, 2009. "Geographical distribution of crime in Italian provinces: a spatial econometric analysis," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 29(1), pages 1-28, February.
    2. Kollias, Christos & Mylonidis, Nikolaos & Paleologou, Suzanna-Maria, 2013. "Crime and the effectiveness of public order spending in Greece: Policy implications of some persistent findings," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 121-133.
    3. Rosetta Lombardo, 2016. "Is there also a North–South Divide in the Diffusion of Crime? A Cluster Analysis of Italian Provinces," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(2), pages 443-455, May.
    4. Biagi, Bianca & Brandono, Maria Giovanna & Detotto, Claudio, 2012. "The effect of tourism on crime in Italy: A dynamic panel approach," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 6, pages 1-24.
    5. Mohammed Lazreg & Kamel Si Mohammed, 2019. "Corruption and Democracy in Middle East and North Africa Countries: Dynamic Generalized Method of Moments," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 9(1), pages 60-65.
    6. de Blasio, Guido & Maggio, Giuseppe & Menon, Carlo, 2016. "Down and out in Italian towns: Measuring the impact of economic downturns on crime," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 99-102.
    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. Luigi Maria Solivetti, 2015. "Immigrants, Natives and Crime: A Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Analysis," Working Papers 8/15, Sapienza University of Rome, DISS.
    9. Amedeo Argentiero & Bruno Chiarini & Elisabetta Marzano, 2020. "Does Tax Evasion Affect Economic Crime?," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(2), pages 441-482, June.
    10. Luigi M. Solivetti, 2016. "Crime Patterns between Tradition and Change: A Territorial Analysis of the Italian Provinces," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(2), pages 531-558, September.
    11. Vinoj Abraham, 2012. "The Deteriorating Labour Market Conditions and Crime: An Analysis of Indian States during 2001-2008," Millennial Asia, , vol. 3(2), pages 207-231, July.
    12. Buonanno, Paolo & Vanin, Paolo, 2017. "Social closure, surnames and crime," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 160-175.
    13. Canepa, Alessandra & Drogo, Federico, 2021. "Wildfire crime, apprehension and social vulnerability in Italy," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    14. Vedran Recher & Ivica Rubil, 2020. "More Tourism, More Crime: Evidence from Croatia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 651-675, January.
    15. Amedeo Argentiero & Bruno Chiarini & Elisabetta Marzano, 2015. "Tax Evasion and Economic Crime. Empirical Evidence for Italy," CESifo Working Paper Series 5497, CESifo.
    16. Anna Rita Germani & Antonio Pergolizzi & Filippo Reganati, 2015. "Law Enforcement and Illegal Trafficking of Waste: Evidence from Italy," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 35(4), pages 2673-2684.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Crime; Unemployment; Panel Data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J00 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - General
    • K40 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - General

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