RT Article
T1 Empirical Issues in the Homicide-Income Inequality Argument
JF Crime & delinquency
VO 69
IS 1
SP 230
OP 256
A1 Vilalta, Carlos J.
A2 Cadena Vargas, Edel
A2 Fondevila, Gustavo
A2 Garrocho, Carlos 1958-
LA English
YR 2023
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1839615427
AB The argument that income inequality increases homicide rates has provoked scholarly debate, with some studies not supporting this position and providing evidence to the contrary. We identify several empirical issues with the current body of evidence, as well as their underlying problems. We challenge these issues by using more robust techniques than those typical of this literature. Based on the case of Mexican municipalities, we provide evidence that in fact, homicide rates correlated negatively with income inequality between 1990 and 2015, and that this relationship was moderated by levels of socioeconomic marginality. Likewise, we show evidence of spatial dependence in the relationship, thus challenging the assumption that geospatial units of analysis are probabilistically independent of each other.
K1 Mexico
K1 Homicide
K1 Income Inequality
K1 Poverty
DO 10.1177/00111287221083885