Unemployment and gang crime: could prosperity backfire?

Arbeitspapier

Empirical evidence reveals that unemployment tends to increase property crime but that it has no effect on violent crime. To explain these facts, we examine a model of criminal gangs and suggest that there is a substitution effect between property crime and violent crime at work. In the model, non-monetary valuation of gang membership is private knowledge. Thus the leaders face a trade-off between less crime per member in large gangs and more crime per member in small gangs. Unemployment increases the relative attractiveness of large and less violent gangs engaging more in property crime.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CESifo Working Paper ; No. 1944

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law ; Social Choice; Clubs; Committees; Associations ; Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
• Subject: violence ; crime ; gangs ; unemployment ; identity ; Kriminalität ; Gewalt ; Arbeitslosigkeit ; Kriminalitätsökonomik ; Theorie

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Poutvaara, Panu ; Priks, Mikael
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo)
• (where): Munich
• (when): 2007

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/25989
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET