Economic Causes Of Theft In 25 OECD Countries: Dynamic Panel Data Analysis

Abstract

There are many reasons for crime, including biological, psychological, economic, and social. The reasons for the crime may vary according to the types of crime. While some types of crimes are mostly committed for economic reasons, many factors other than economic factors can be predominantly influential in committing some types of crimes. However, it can be thought that economic factors are practically based on most problems arising from social and psychological factors. For this reason, it is essential to investigate the economic causes of crime types. In this study context, the economic reasons for theft crime which is mostly committed for economic reasons, were investigated by the System Generalized Moments Method (GMM) for selected countries (25 OECD countries) that are members of the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation. While determining the OECD member countries, the data set of all the variables (unemployment, Gini coefficient as an indicator of income inequality, consumer price index as an indicator of inflation, social expenditures, and population) included in the analysis was examined, and a standard analysis period (2013-2018) was determined according to these data. Thus, the effect of these variables on theft crime was investigated for the period 2013-2018. In the literature, economic variables were mostly used in the studies on the subject, but there were not many studies investigating the effect of the social expenditure variable on theft crime. For this reason, it is thought that the study will contribute to the literature. According to the system GMM analysis results, while unemployment, inflation (consumer price index), and the Gini coefficient positively affect theft crime, social expenditures and population variables have no effect.