Abstract
This study investigates the unemployment-crime relationship using a panel of the 58 counties in California from 2015-2019. A regression is estimated using a one-way random effects model to control for unobserved heterogeneity. The dependent variables are categorized into two groups: violent and property crimes. Independent variables are also placed into categories: state expenditures, socioeconomic, demographic, law enforcement, and county. The results indicate that for violent crimes, poverty, Black racial composition, young males aged 14-17, and college educational attainment for people aged 18-24 are positively significant contributors to the crime rate. Population density and college educational attainment for people aged 25+ are negative and significant, reducing violent crimes. For property crimes, welfare expenditures, poverty, divorced males aged 15+, and Black racial composition are significant and positively influence the crime rate. Hispanic racial composition, jail population per capita, the first difference in the unemployment rate, high school educational attainment for people aged 18-24, and college educational attainment for people aged 18-24 are negatively significant contributors to the property crime rate. The key covariate, the unemployment rate, is not found to be a statistically significant determinant of crime across the models.
Recommended Citation
Friedman, Taylor m.
(2022)
"THE UNEMPLOYMENT-CRIME RELATIONSHIP IN CALIFORNIA: A REEXAMINATION AT THE COUNTY-LEVEL,"
Pennsylvania Economic Review: Vol. 29:
No.
2, Article 4.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.65193/3067-8080.1045