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Inequality and Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean: New Data for and Old Question

The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between inequality and crime, with a focus on the Latin America and Caribbean region.We find a significant, positive, and robust association between these variables. The results persist if one instruments for inequality with historical variables in crime regressions, suggesting that a causal interpretation of the estimated effect is reasonable. Moreover, inequality is the only variable showing this robust regularity. Education levels, economic activity, income per capita, and poverty show weaker and unstable relationships with crime. The analysis of the distribution of crime victimization indicates that men and youth suffer more crime than women and the elderly. By socio-economic strata, high-income groups suffer more victimization relative to poorer groups in LAC countries, but the poor suffer more homicides.

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Description

Subject

Desarrollo | Pobreza | Políticas públicas

País / Región

América Latina y el Caribe

URI

https://scioteca.caf.com/handle/123456789/1786

Date

2021-09-07

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6.1 Documentos de trabajo en investigación socioeconómica

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Inequality and Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean_New Data for and Old Question.pdf (875.57 KB)

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CAF

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