We examine the impact of living wages on crime. Past research has found that living wages appear to increase unemployment while providing greater returns to market work. The impact on crime, therefore, is unclear. Using data on annual crime rates for large cities in the United States, we find...

There is a consensus that inequality increases the supply of crime. As disparity in income grows within a society, the incentives for low-income individuals to engage in criminal activities also increase. However, in a context of high inequality, better-off individuals invest in deterring those...