Response of Crime to Unemployment: An International Comparison

Paolo Buonanno (1) , Francesco Drago (2) , Roberto Galbiati (3)

1 UniBg - Università degli Studi di Bergamo = University of Bergamo
2 University of Naples Federico II = Università degli studi di Napoli Federico II
3 ECON - Département d'économie (Sciences Po)

This article studies crime rates’ response to economic conditions. Using a longitudinal data set covering about 20 countries over the period 1970-2010, we investigate whether crime rates respond asymmetrically to increases in unemployment and recoveries in economic conditions. We find a positive response of crime rates on variation in unemployment rates, but we do not find compelling evidence of asymmetric responses to positive and negative variations in the economic cycle.

Mots clés: crime; unemployment; economic cycle

Domaines: Sociologie

Paolo Buonanno, Francesco Drago, Roberto Galbiati. Response of Crime to Unemployment: An International Comparison. Journal of Criminal Justice, 2014, 30 (1), pp.29 - 40. ⟨10.1177/1043986213509023⟩. ⟨hal-03460655⟩