Property Crime and Law Enforcement in Italy. A Regional Panel Analysis 1980-95

Guido Travaglini

Econometrics from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: In this paper a Cobb-Douglas utility function is introduced and solved for a dynamic equation of property crime supply and its determinants, namely deterrents and income. Thereafter, all variables are empirically tested, by means of a simultaneous equations model, for the sign and magnitude of their mutual relationships in a panel of Italy and its two economically and culturally different areas, the North and the South. The period scrutinized is 1980-95 and the results obtained widely differ among the two. When appropriately modeled and instrumented, in fact, property crime is found to react to police and criminal justice deterrence, and also to incomes, with different parameter magnitudes and significance. The same diversity applies to the parameters related to deterrence, flawed in quite a few cases by scarce law enforcement and productivity, and to those related to local incomes, which still reflect for the South a tendency of crime to substitute for legal activities.

Keywords: Models with Panel Data; Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C33 K42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 31 pages
Date: 2005-12-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eff, nep-geo, nep-law, nep-reg, nep-upt and nep-ure
Note: Type of Document - pdf; pages: 31
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Journal Article: Property Crime and Law Enforcement in Italy. A Regional Panel Analysis 1980-95 (2003)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wpa:wuwpem:0512001

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