Influence of state policy components on the rate of violence and crime against human life and health

Abstract

The share of crimes against human life and health on average is up to 10% worldwide, and losses are estimated from 0.3 to 3% of GDP. This study examines the dependence of the rate of violence and crime against human life and health on the state policy elements in the example of transitioning and developing countries. The crime index, the share of people reporting crime, the rate of violence or vandalism in the area, and the number of intentional homicide offenses in the largest cities were used as parameters characterizing the rate of violence and crime against human life and health. All parameters were divided into institutional, social, and economic. The dependence between the indicators was studied using fixed-effects and random-effects models; a grouping of countries according to the nature of this dependence employed the iterative separation method of k-means and tree clustering. Based on the results, it is justified that institutional and economic (highest GDP and real minimum wages) components significantly influence the level of violence and crime against human life and health. For example, the average value of the crime index for the fourth cluster is 29.98 compared to 54.09 for the first cluster. At the same time, strengthening responsibility for committed crimes has a more negligible impact on the crime level than increasing the material well-being of the population and supporting its vulnerable segments.