By Kyong Mazzaro Homicide was the cause of death of roughly half a million people worldwide in 2014. Although estimates vary, and homicide may be underreported in some cases, it is a fact that more deaths are caused by homicides than war. In an effort to shed light on the characteristics and causes of homicide worldwide, the World Homicide Survey (WHS) has created databases that measure various aspects of violence and homicide in more than 175 countries of the world. Using this information, Marc Ouimet (2012) found that, worldwide, the number of homicides and the collateral violence associated with it (rapes, kidnappings, armed robberies) are closely tied to socio-economic factors. Over and above the usual suspects such as the availability of arms, organized crime, and crime control, it was in fact economic development (GDP), inequality (GINI index) and poverty (using infant mortality as an indicator) that best explained the levels of homicide at the country-level worldwide. Contrary to common belief, socioeconomic conditions are intricately linked to homicide.
Furthermore, he found that while in conditions of extreme poverty higher homicide rates can be expected, in countries with medium levels of Human Development or social and economic wellbeing, income inequality better predicts the incidence of homicide. Therefore, countries with significant economic growth, but high inequality rates, can still see high homicide rates, as observed in many Latin American countries.
But how exactly do socioeconomic conditions lead to changes in homicide rates? In a later study, Ouimet and Montmagny-Grenier (2014) investigated the impact of ‘crime precipitators’, or factors that are more directly related to violence and homicide.   They found that the higher the perception of the proportion of people living in extreme poverty, carrying a fire arm (as opposed to owning it), and the more police corruption, the higher the homicide rate. This finding could be exemplified in the United States, a developed economy with high inequality, negative public perception of law enforcement, and a homicide rate two or three times greater than most established democracies. Although more research is still needed, these studies imply that socioeconomic conditions should also be considered as an essential part of the policy decisions in reducing homicide rates.
  References:
Ouimet, M. (2012). A World of Homicides The Effect of Economic Development, Income Inequality, and Excess Infant Mortality on the Homicide Rate for 165 Countries in 2010. Homicide Studies, 16(3), 238-258.
Ouimet, M., & Montmagny-Grenier, C. (2014). “Homicide and Violence—International and Cross-National Research” The Construct Validity of the Results Generated by the World Homicide Survey.International Criminal Justice Review, 24(3), 222-234.
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Categories: Blog, Injustice and Conflict

Published May 13, 2015