A Modern Guide to the Economics of Crime discusses the evolution of a field, whose growing relevance among scholars and policymakers is partly related to the persistence of crime and violence around the world and partly to the remarkable progress made in recent years in the economic analysis of individual and organised crime. Such progress is related to the so-called “credibility revolution” as well as to the cross-fertilization of economics and other social sciences such as criminology, sociology and political science. With contributions from some of the leading scholars in the economics of crime, the volume highlights a variety of topics, conceptual frameworks and empirical approaches, thus providing a comprehensive overview of the most recent developments of the field. Emphasising the importance of designing crime-reducing policies that are guided by rigorous empirical analyses, the contributions leverage the availability of novel and administrative micro-data, the use of research designs that unveil causal relationships, and the interdisciplinarity of approaches and theoretical frameworks. The Modern Guide moves through four parts: first investigating the role of the police and their effectiveness, then moving on to look at the distinct socio-economic factors that may induce individuals to commit crimes, followed by issues related to crime in specific groups including migrants, women and racial minorities, and finally turning from individual to organized crime. This Modern Guide will be an invigorating read for economics and criminology students and scholars looking at the relationship between the two fields. Policy makers will also benefit from the application of interdisciplinary theory to empirical research in the chapters.

Table of Contents:
Contents: 1 The changing nature of economics of crime 1 Paolo Buonanno, Paolo Vanin and Juan Vargas 2 The economics of policing and crime 12 Federico Masera 3 The geography of crime and policing 30 Matthew Freedman, Emily Owens and Derek Christopher 4 Broken windows policing and crime: Evidence from 80 Colombian cities 55 Daniel Mejía, Ervyn Norza, Santiago Tobón and Martín Vanegas-Arias 5 Decarceration and crime: California’s experience 88 Patricio Dominguez, Magnus Lofstrom and Steven Raphael 6 A note on electronic monitoring and some challenges to its implementation 135 Rafael Di Tella and Ernesto Schargrodsky 7 Education and crime: What we know and where do we go? 150 Joel Carr, Olivier Marie and Sunčica Vujić 8 Unbundling the relationship between economic shocks and crime 184 Eduardo Ferraz, Rodrigo Soares and Juan Vargas 9 Social prevention of crime: Alternatives to policing measures in an urban context 205 Magdalena Domínguez and Daniel Montolio 10 Peer effects in crime 227 Evelina Gavrilova and Marcello Puca 11 New evidence on immigration and crime 243 Paolo Pinotti and Sandra V. Rozo 12 Females in crime 265 Evelina Gavrilova 13 Racial bias in the criminal justice system 286 Jennifer L. Doleac 14 Gangs and organized crime 305 Ben Lessing and Maria Micaela Sviatschi 15 Organised crime, elections and public policies 320 Pasquale Accardo, Giuseppe De Feo and Giacomo De Luca 16 What predicts corruption? 345 Emanuele Colonnelli, Jorge Gallego and Mounu Prem 17 Organised crime, state and the legitimate monopoly of violence 374 Tommy E. Murphy and Paolo Vanin Index 395