Economic Clues to Crime: Insights from Mongolia

Dagvasuren Ganbold (), Enkhbayar Jamsranjav, Young-Rae Kim and Erdenechuluun Jargalsaikhan
Additional contact information
Dagvasuren Ganbold: Department of Fundamental Science, University of Finance and Economics, BZD 3rd Street, Peace Avenue-5, Ulaanbaatar 13381, Mongolia
Enkhbayar Jamsranjav: Department of Applied Mathematics, National University of Mongolia, Ikh Surguuliin Gudamj-1, Ulaanbaatar 14201, Mongolia
Young-Rae Kim: Department of Fundamental Science, University of Finance and Economics, BZD 3rd Street, Peace Avenue-5, Ulaanbaatar 13381, Mongolia
Erdenechuluun Jargalsaikhan: Department of Fundamental Science, University of Finance and Economics, BZD 3rd Street, Peace Avenue-5, Ulaanbaatar 13381, Mongolia

Economies, 2025, vol. 13, issue 6, 1-19

Abstract: This paper examines the dynamic relationship between economic indicators, law enforcement mechanisms, and property-related crimes in Mongolia using a time-series econometric approach. Relying on the theoretical frameworks of Becker’s economic model of crime and Cantor and Land’s motivation–opportunity hypothesis, the study explores the effects of unemployment, detection probability, and incarceration rates on four crime categories: total crime, theft, robbery, and fraud. An error correction model (ECM) is employed to capture both short-run fluctuations and long-run equilibrium relationships over the period 1992–2022. The empirical findings reveal that detection rates exert a statistically significant deterrent effect on robbery in the short term, while incarceration rates are effective in reducing theft. Unemployment shows a positive and significant long-run effect on theft prior to 2009 but weakens thereafter due to methodological changes in labor statistics. Fraud demonstrates a distinct response pattern, exhibiting negative associations with both incarceration and unemployment, and showing no sensitivity to detection probability. Diagnostic tests support the model’s robustness, with heteroskedasticity in the theft model addressed using robust standard errors. This study contributes to the literature by providing the first country-specific empirical evidence on crime determinants in Mongolia. It highlights the heterogeneous impact of economic and institutional factors on different crime types in a transition economy. The findings underscore the need for integrated policy responses that combine improvements in law enforcement with inclusive economic and social development strategies.

Keywords: crime; unemployment; law enforcement; Mongolia; time-series analysis; error correction model; transition economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E F I J O Q (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/13/6/160/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/13/6/160/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:13:y:2025:i:6:p:160-:d:1671612

Access Statistics for this article

Economies is currently edited by Ms. Hongyan Zhang

More articles in Economies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().