Socio-Economic Determinants of Crime: Further Evidence from Nigeria

Sunday Osahon Igbinedion () and Ikponwosa Ebomoyi
Additional contact information
Sunday Osahon Igbinedion: University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria
Ikponwosa Ebomoyi: University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria

Annals of the University of Petrosani, Economics, 2017, vol. 17, issue 1, 101-114

Abstract: This study examines the socioeconomic and demographic determinants of crime in Nigeria, using error-correction modelling approach for 1981-2015. The results indicate that the twin macroeconomic problems of inflation and unemployment positively impact on crime rate in Nigeria. The level of education was also found to be significant and negatively related to crime rates, suggesting that education not only make people risk averse, but also indirectly alters individual’s decision to adopt criminal behaviour. Also, the one-period lagged value of average income was significant and negatively related to crime rate, suggesting that, appreciable increase in per capita income tends to reduce the incentive to commit crime. Accordingly, the study recommends, among others, the need for the relevant authorities to design and implement policy measures aimed at combating the twin evil of inflation and unemployment on the one hand, and increasing the level of education and schooling, especially among the indigent.

Keywords: crime; misery index; demographics time series; Nigeria (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C01 I2 J24 N3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.upet.ro/annals/economics/pdf/2017/p1/Igbinedion-Ebomoyi.pdf (application/pdf)

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:pet:annals:v:17:y:2017:i:1:p:101-114

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Annals of the University of Petrosani, Economics from University of Petrosani, Romania
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Imola Driga ().