Inequality and Violent Crime: Evidence from Data on Robbery and Violent Theft
| Author | Eric Neumayer |
| Date | 01 January 2005 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0022343305049669 |
| Published date | 01 January 2005 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
101
Introduction
In an analysis of the determinants of
homicide rates in a cross-national panel, the
present author has already argued that the
apparent link between income inequality
and homicide might be spurious (Neumayer,
2003). It is the objective of this short
research note to complement that earlier
argument in looking at robbery and violent
theft. It demonstrates that income inequality
is positively associated with robbery/violent
theft only if either country-specific fixed
effects are not controlled for or the sample is
artificially restricted to a small number of
countries.
Many economists have long since argued
that income inequality is likely to be a cause
of violent crime, particularly violent
property crime. This is because greater
inequality means a higher concentration of
economic wealth in the hands of a few,
which implies easier targets for potential
criminals and raises the net gains of engaging
in violent property crime (Fleisher, 1966;
Ehrlich, 1973; Chiu & Madden, 1998;
Kelly, 2000; Soares, 2002; for a dissenting
view, see Deutsch, Spiegel & Templeman,
1992). From a different angle, deprivation
theory, popular among many criminologists
and sociologists, similarly regards economic
inequality as a major source of violent crime
(Hagan & Peterson, 1995). The relative
deprivation of the poor is seen to cause frus-
tration and anger that finds an outlet in
violent crime.
And yet, ‘the evidence in favour of that
hypothesis is weak’ (Bourguignon, Nuñez &
© 2005 Journal of Peace Research,
vol. 42, no. 1, 2005, pp. 101–112
Sage Publications (London, Thousand Oaks, CA
and New Delhi) www.sagepublications.com
DOI 10.1177/0022343305049669
Inequality and Violent Crime: Evidence from Data
on Robbery and Violent Theft*
ERIC NEUMAYER
Department of Geography and Environment, London School of Economics
and Political Science
This article argues that the link between income inequality and violent property crime might be
spurious, complementing a similar argument in prior analysis by the author on the determinants of
homicide. In contrast, Fajnzylber, Lederman & Loayza provide seemingly strong and robust evidence
that inequality causes a higher rate of both homicide and robbery/violent theft, even after controlling
for country-specific fixed effects. The results in the present article suggest that inequality is not a statisti-
cally significant determinant, unless either country-specific effects are not controlled for or the sample
is artificially restricted to a small number of countries. The reason for the link between inequality and
violent property crime being spurious is that income inequality is likely to be strongly correlated with
country-specific fixed effects, such as cultural differences. A high degree of inequality might be socially
undesirable for any number of reasons, but that it causes violent crime is far from proven.
* Correpondence: e.neumayer@lse.ac.uk. Helpful comments
from three anonymous referees and Associate Editor Han
Dorussen are gratefully acknowledged. The data used in this
article, as well as the routines used to generate the results with
Stata 8, can be found at http://www.prio.no/jpr/datasets.asp.
06 neumayer (ds) 22/11/04 1:49 pm Page 101
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