TY - JOUR
T1 - Inequality, concentrated disadvantage, and homicide
T2 - towards a multi-level theory of economic inequality and crime
AU - Tuttle, James
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - One of the most consistent findings in the cross-national literature is the association between economic inequality and homicide rates. However, recent research has raised doubts concerning causality. To address some of these concerns, I draw on a (modified) version of Coleman’s theory-building model to connect societal-level economic inequality and homicide rates through mechanisms operating at the neighbourhood level. The causal pathway operates through three mechanisms. First, greater economic inequality within society corresponds with higher degrees of spatial segregation by income across neighbourhoods. Second, spatial segregation contributes to concentrated disadvantage and less social integration of the lowest economic stratum, described as (reduced) collective efficacy and social isolation. Finally, more tenuous social integration contributes to higher rates of crime due to weakened social control and cultural/social adaptations to social isolation. This integration of the cross-national and neighbourhood literatures provides new avenues for research on the societal inequality/homicide association.
AB - One of the most consistent findings in the cross-national literature is the association between economic inequality and homicide rates. However, recent research has raised doubts concerning causality. To address some of these concerns, I draw on a (modified) version of Coleman’s theory-building model to connect societal-level economic inequality and homicide rates through mechanisms operating at the neighbourhood level. The causal pathway operates through three mechanisms. First, greater economic inequality within society corresponds with higher degrees of spatial segregation by income across neighbourhoods. Second, spatial segregation contributes to concentrated disadvantage and less social integration of the lowest economic stratum, described as (reduced) collective efficacy and social isolation. Finally, more tenuous social integration contributes to higher rates of crime due to weakened social control and cultural/social adaptations to social isolation. This integration of the cross-national and neighbourhood literatures provides new avenues for research on the societal inequality/homicide association.
KW - Inequality
KW - concentrated disadvantage
KW - cross-national
KW - homicide
KW - multilevel
KW - poverty
KW - social integration
KW - theory
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85107966384&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/01924036.2021.1942103
DO - 10.1080/01924036.2021.1942103
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85107966384
SN - 0192-4036
VL - 46
SP - 215
EP - 232
JO - International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice
JF - International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice
IS - 3
ER -