Keeping up by robbing the Joneses

Rosaria Distefano, Livio Ferrante and Francesco Reito

Applied Economics Letters, 2019, vol. 26, issue 4, 290-294

Abstract: In this article, we find evidence of a ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ effect in the relationship between inequality and crime in Italy. We use data on minor and major crimes in the 20 Italian regions in the years 2004–2015 and show that for higher (lower) income levels, inequality leads individuals to commit major (minor) crimes to try to keep up with richer people.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1080/13504851.2018.1467547

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