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Determinants of crime rates: Crime Deterrence and Growth in post-liberalized India

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  • Dutta, Mousumi
  • Husain, Zakir

Abstract

Becker’s analysis of crime and punishment has initiated a series of theoretical and empirical works investigating the determinants of crime. However, there is a dearth of literature in the context of developing countries. This paper is an attempt to address this deficiency. The paper investigates the relative impact of deterrence variables (load on police force, arrest rates, charge sheet rates, conviction rates and quick disposal of cases) and socio-economic variables (economic growth, poverty,, urbanization and education) on crime rates in India. State-level data is collected on the above variables for the period 1999 to 2005.Zellner’s SURE model is used to estimate the model. Subsequently, this is extended by introducing endogeneity. The results show that both deterrence and socioeconomic factors are important in explaining crime rates. However, some of their effects are different from that observed in studies for developed countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Dutta, Mousumi & Husain, Zakir, 2009. "Determinants of crime rates: Crime Deterrence and Growth in post-liberalized India," MPRA Paper 14478, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:14478
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Abdul Saboor & Shumaila Sadiq & Atta Ullah Khan & Gulnaz Hameed, 2017. "Dynamic Reflections of Crimes, Quasi Democracy and Misery Index in Pakistan," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 133(1), pages 31-45, August.
    2. Sofia Amaral & Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay & Rudra Sensarma, 2014. "Determinants Of Crime Across Conflict And Non-Conflict States In India," Working papers 146, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode.
    3. Ritika Jain & Shreya Biswas, 2021. "The road to safety- Examining the nexus between road infrastructure and crime in rural India," Papers 2112.07314, arXiv.org.
    4. Rosetta Lombardo & Marianna Falcone, 2011. "Crime And Economic Performance. A Cluster Analysis Of Panel Data On Italy'S Nuts 3 Regions," Working Papers 201112, Università della Calabria, Dipartimento di Economia, Statistica e Finanza "Giovanni Anania" - DESF.
    5. Ayesha Haider & Amjad Ali, 2015. "Socio-Economic Determinants of Crimes: A Cross-Sectional Study of Punjab Districts," International Journal of Economics and Empirical Research (IJEER), The Economics and Social Development Organization (TESDO), vol. 3(11), pages 550-560, November.
    6. Islam, Asif, 2011. "Police and Crime Against Firms in Developing Economies," MPRA Paper 36725, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. 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.
    8. Gupta, Manish & Sachdeva, Payal, 2017. "Economic, Demographic, Deterrent Variables And Crime Rate In India," MPRA Paper 80181, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 14 Jul 2017.
    9. 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.
    10. Islam, Asif, 2012. "Is Economic Growth Criminogenic for Firms In Developing Economies?," MPRA Paper 36724, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Rajeev Sharma & Indervir Singh & Anoopa S Nair, 2011. "Peace Process and Economic Development: Empirical Evidence from Indian States," Millennial Asia, , vol. 2(2), pages 187-205, July.
    12. Yadav, Jitesh & Chakraborty, Lekha, 2023. "Public Financial Management and Crime Against Children: A State level Analysis in India," Working Papers 23/391, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
    13. Mohamad Kassem & Amjad Ali & Marc Audi, 2019. "Unemployment Rate, Population Density and Crime Rate in Punjab (Pakistan): An Empirical Analysis," Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 8(2), pages 92-104, June.
    14. Qamar, Alina & Safdar, Maria, 2021. "The Role of Human Capital, Corruption and Quality of Life in Determining the Crime Rate: Empirics from Pakistan," MPRA Paper 107633, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Islam, Asif, 2012. "Is There a Gender Bias in Crime Against Firms for Developing Economies?," MPRA Paper 36726, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Dutta, Nabamita & Jana, Dipparna & Kar, Saibal, 2020. "Does state-level per capita income affect juvenile delinquency? An empirical analysis for Indian states," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 109-120.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Crime; Deterrence; Growth; India; SURE Model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Z00 - Other Special Topics - - General - - - General
    • C30 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - General

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