Crime and local inequality in South Africa

Gabriel Demombynes () and Berk Özler ()

No 2925, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: The authors examine the effects of local inequality on property and violent crime in South Africa. Their findings are consistent with economic theories relating inequality to property crime, and also with sociological theories that imply that inequality leads to crime in general. Burglary rates are 20-30 percent higher in police station jurisdictions that are the wealthiest among their neighbors, suggesting that criminals travel to neighborhoods where the expected returns from burglary are highest. The authors do not find evidence that inequality between racial groups fosters interpersonal conflict at the local level.

Keywords: Corruption&Anitcorruption Law; Public Health Promotion; Education and Society; Judicial System Reform; Health Monitoring&Evaluation; Governance Indicators; Judicial System Reform; Corruption&Anitcorruption Law; Health Monitoring&Evaluation; Social Conflict and Violence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002-11-30
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Related works:
Journal Article: Crime and local inequality in South Africa (2005)
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