NCJ Number
191885
Journal
Deviant Behavior Volume: 22 Issue: 6 Dated: November-December 2001 Pages: 491-516
Date Published
2001
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This study examined the link between societal economic conditions and homicide rates.
Abstract
Empirical research and theorizing on cross-national variations in homicide have been limited by an exclusive focus on the direct effects of national structural characteristics on the rates of homicide. This study proposes that a high rate of population growth may have a direct role in bifurcating the distribution of national wealth. Population growth should therefore indirectly increase homicide rates through this mediating factor. Data testing this hypothesis came from 50 nations circa 1990. The study integrates the cross-national literature with recent developments in the strain theoretical perspective. The data support the expected relationship, indicating (net of several controls) that rapid population growth is an underlying barrier to low homicide rates across nations. The main theoretical implication is that the often observed inverse relationship between level of development and rates of homicide appears to be indirectly driven by differential population dynamics. Notes, tables, references