Economics of crime: Investigating the role of macroeconomic variables on the increase of occurrence crime in society

Crime is a phenomenon that exists in all societies and affects the useful performance of different parts of a country. Various factors influence the occurrence of the undesirable phenomenon of crime, one of the most important of which is the economic factor. Applying incorrect policies can create income inequalities and social gap, provide the basis for all kinds of crimes and endanger social security. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of macroeconomic variables on the increase in crime. In terms of methodology, this research is a correlational research. A standard questionnaire was used to measure the research variables. The questionnaire was distributed among 340 people sampled from the statistical population, all the criminals arrested during 8 months in Shiraz police stations. The descriptive research method was correlation type. In order to answer the questions and check the hypotheses of the research, Smart-PLS software was used to check structural equations and path analysis by Partial Least Squares (PLS) method. According to the results obtained from the path coefficient and t-statistics, relative deprivation and inflation have a significant effect on unemployment, class conflict, poverty and inequality, and through these variables lead to an increase in crime. Also, the results confirm the positive and significant impact of unemployment, class conflict, poverty and inequality on crime.

crime, crime economy, macroeconomic variables