Estimating the effect of inequality on crime is challenging due to reverse causality and omitted variable bias. This paper addresses these concerns by exploiting the fact that, as suggested by recent scholarly research, the legacy of slavery is largely manifested in persistent levels of economic...

This paper studies the impact of education on criminal activity in Italy. We propose a theoretical framework to determine the effects of education and past incidence of crime on criminal activity, and we test its predictions using annual data for the twenty Italian regions over the period...

In this paper we develop an econometric approach aimed at estimating the impact of education on the rate of criminality for the twenty Italian regions over the period 1980-1985. Starting from a simple model in which we clearly identify the relationship between the level of education and the rate...

We present a dynamic two-period model of individual behaviour with heterogeneous agents in which individuals decide how to allocate their disposable time between education, crime and work in the legal sector. Education has a multiple role: it implies higher expected wages in the legal sector,...

Starting from Becker’s seminal paper we review the first contributions to the economics of crime, stressing how with the first model of criminal choice, due to Becker, the way of conceiving criminal behaviours has drastically changed. In fact, criminal choice ceases to be viewed as determined...

Social sanctions may be a strong deterrent of crime. This paper presents a formal model that relates crime and social sanction to social interaction density. We empirically test the theoretical predictions using a provincial level panel dataset on dierent crimes in Italy between 1996 and 2003....

This paper investigates the relationship between labour market conditions and crime in Italy accounting for both age and gender in unemployment measure and considering regional disparities between North-Centre and South of Italy. Using regional data over the period 1993-2002, we study the impact...

We examine the empirical relationship between immigration and crime across Italian provinces during the period 1990-2003. Drawing on police administrative records, we first document that the size of the immigrant population is positively correlated with the incidence of property crimes and with...