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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
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Results for socioeconomic variables
9 results foundAuthor: Blokker, Stefan Title: Race and the City: Looking into the Relationship between Fear of Crime and Racial Dynamics in Lima, Peru Summary: The Peruvian capital, Lima, is a bloating metropolis with a population of almost nine million people. Like most other large cities in Latin America, there is great socioeconomic and racial inequality in Lima, the city has a very diverse population; from the wealthy, and primarily of European descent, members of the higher classes in districts such as Miraflores and San Isidro to the poor rural migrants of indigenous and mestizo descent living in the pueblos jovenes and everything in between these two extremes. Tensions based on socioeconomic and racial status have always been present in this city. In the era of so-called “new violence”, defined as organised coercion through the evasion or undermining of the formally democratic state’s legitimate monopoly on violence for criminal/economic purposes, these tensions remain and have intertwined with crime and more specifically with the fear of crime. The main research problem in this study is the relationship between the socioeconomic and racial dynamics in Peru and the fear of crime experienced by members of the upper middle-class in Lima. Details: Utrecht: University of Utrecht, Latin American & Caribbean Studies, 2010. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Master's Thesis: Accessed April 5, 2011 at: http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/student-theses/2011-0222-200311/Stefan%20Blokker%20-%20Master%20Thesis%202010%20LACS%20Stefan%20Blokker%203082814.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Peru URL: http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/student-theses/2011-0222-200311/Stefan%20Blokker%20-%20Master%20Thesis%202010%20LACS%20Stefan%20Blokker%203082814.pdf Shelf Number: 121250 Keywords: Fear of Crime (Lima, Peru)Race and CrimeSocioeconomic Variables |
Author: Collier, Paul Title: Murder by Numbers: Socio-Economic Determinants of Homicide and Civil War Summary: Deliberate killing is a common part of the defining features of both homicide and civil war. Often, the scale of killing is also similar: most countries have homicide rates that exceed the threshold of one thousand combat-related deaths during a year that is the standard criterion for civil war. What is clearly different is the organization of killing: the perpetrators of homicide are usually individuals or small groups, whereas rebellion – the direct cause of a civil war - requires a cohesive group of at least several hundred killers. Beyond this, the motivation for the two types of killing may differ systematically, although evidently both homicide and rebellion have many different motivations, including error and irrationality. In this paper we investigate whether the socio-economic determinants of homicide and civil war are similar, and then explore potential inter-relationships between them. We compare our existing model of the risk of civil war with a new model of the homicide rate. We find that there is a ‘family resemblance’ between the two types of killing, but surprising differences. Furthermore, we turn to the inter-relationships between homicide and the risk of civil war. Specifically, we ask whether a high rate of homicide makes a country more prone to civil war, and whether a civil war makes a country more prone to homicide. Our results indicate that higher homicide rate do not increase the risk of war but that civil wars generate a legacy of increased post-conflict homicide rates. Details: Oxford, UK: Centre for the Study of African Economies, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, 2004. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Centre for the Study of African Economies Working Paper Series (CSAE WPS/2004-10): Accessed November 9, 2010 at: http://www.csae.ox.ac.uk/workingpapers/pdfs/2004-10text.pdf Year: 2004 Country: Africa URL: http://www.csae.ox.ac.uk/workingpapers/pdfs/2004-10text.pdf Shelf Number: 123272 Keywords: HomicideSocioeconomic VariablesViolent Crimes |
Author: Krause, Jana Title: A Deadly Cycle: Ethno-Religious Conflict in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria Summary: Over the last decade, a political crisis in Jos, capital of Nigeria’s Plateau State, has developed into a widespread, protracted communal conflict. Up to 7,000 people have been killed since riots broke out in the city in late 2001, and ten years later a fragile calm in the city is kept only by the heavy presence of military and police forces. The tensions between ethnic groups have been exacerbated by a combination of conflict over the allocation of resources, electoral competition, fears of religious domination, and contested land rights. The presence of well-organized armed groups in rural areas, the proliferation of weapons, and the sharp rise in gun fatalities within Jos all point to a risk of future large-scale violence. A Deadly Cycle: Ethno-Religious Conflict in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria—a new Working Paper from the Geneva Declaration Secretariat—examines the root causes of conflict in Jos, mapping the spread of violence. The report first outlines the historical background and socio-economic characteristics of Plateau State, and then examines the causes of the conflict, and local perceptions of the current situation. After considering the characteristics of urban and rural violence, the report offers an overview of violence prevention and peace-building efforts. A Deadly Cycle is based on field research carried out in Jos in November and December 2010, including interviews with local residents, community and religious leaders, local NGO staff, journalists, university researchers, ward heads, and local politicians. Details: Geneva: Geneva Declaration Secretariat, 2011. 70p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper: Accessed November 10, 2011 at: http://www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/regional-publications/GD-WP-Jos-deadly-cycle.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Nigeria URL: http://www.genevadeclaration.org/fileadmin/docs/regional-publications/GD-WP-Jos-deadly-cycle.pdf Shelf Number: 123307 Keywords: Ethnic ViolenceReligious ViolenceSocioeconomic VariablesViolence (Nigeria)Violent Crime |
Author: Berkebile, Richard E. Title: Causes of Domestic Terrorism: 1970-2010 Summary: Contrary to conventional wisdom, the structural determinants of transnational and domestic terrorism are not necessarily synonymous. A domestic terrorism event population was derived by applying definitional criteria to the University of Maryland's Global Terrorism Database. Economic, political, systemic, and social structural determinants were tested with a negative binomial regression on 194 states between 1970 and 2010. Results suggested an inverse U relationship between wealth and the incidence of terrorism. Interestingly, short term economic growth had the opposite effect. It depressed terrorism. Political regimes were categorized into three different types - autocracies, anocracies, or democracies. Autocracies were the least susceptible to terrorism. Anocracy was the regime type most conducive to terrorism. Democratic regimes occupied the middle space. They suffered more terrorism than dictatorships but less than anocratic regimes. Cold War bipolarity systemically encouraged terrorism compared to the unipolarity of the post-Cold War era, suggesting superpower rivalry manifested in more terrorist violence. Social tension effects varied depending on type. Linguistic fractionalization increased the incidence of violence. Paradoxically, ethnic fractionalization impeded terrorism. Religious fractionalization had little impact on terrorism. Among control variables, population and a history of terrorism were directly related to terrorism. Mountain terrain and urbanization were not significantly related to it. Details: Columbia, MO: University of Missouri-Columbia, 2012. 191p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed March 5, 2013 at: https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10355/16521/research.pdf?sequence=2 Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10355/16521/research.pdf?sequence=2 Shelf Number: 127851 Keywords: Domestic Terrorism (U.S.)Homeland SecurityRadical GroupsRadicalizationSocioeconomic Variables |
Author: Rudqvist, Anders, ed. Title: Breeding Inequality – Reaping Violence Exploring Linkages and Causality in Colombia and Beyond Summary: This report is based on a series of seminars organized by Colombia Forum, a policy research and support programme carried out at the Collegium for Development Studies. The programme is supported by and collaborates with Sida´s Department for Latin America. The objectives of Colombia Forum are to stimulate and support the coordination of education, research and policy analysis related to Colombian social development, conflicts, peace-building efforts and development cooperation in Sweden and Colombia. The programme also seeks to facilitate development practitioners’ access to research resources, and to assist Swedish researchers to become directly engaged in studies and practice related to socio-economic analysis and development practice focused on Colombia. Against the background of mounting poverty, deep-seated social contradictions and an escalating internal conflict, Colombian and other social scientists try to explain the present situation – and discuss the construction of sustainable peace with social justice – making use of concepts such as poverty, inequality and character of the prevailing political system. The first article of the report, Popular Participation in Colombia by Anders Rudqvist, is intended to provide a background presentation of Colombia. It is a broad account of the development and character of the Colombian society with particular reference to popular participation. Also at a general and broad level, but specifically focusing on the concepts of poverty and conflict, is Björn Hettne’s Poverty and Conflict: the Methodology of a Complex Relationship. Hettne’s article is a presentation and analysis of varying interpretations of the poverty and violence concepts and their interrelation as understood in the context of different theoretical approaches, i.e. the positivist, the political economy, the holistic-historicist and the complex emergencies. The theoretical and policy consequences of these approaches are explored with regard to conflict provention and prevention, external interventions, conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction. In his Reflections on Recent Interpretations of Violence in Colombia, Pedro Valenzuela undertakes an analysis of the evolution of the debate on poverty and violence in Colombia. Some recent interpretations inspired by positivist and economic theoretical approaches are scrutinized and called into question, while the importance of inequality as a factor explaining and specifying the relationship between poverty and violence in the Colombian case is underscored. Poverty – particularly as expressed in inequality or social, economic and political exclusion – is viewed by many as a structural cause of violence and conflict. But other factors such as the character of political regimes and institutions, or more long-term historical processes, are also seen as key elements in the analysis of conflict and violence. Violence and poverty are thus multifaceted social phenomena. Different categories of conflicts and contradictions lead to various forms of violence. Political, economic and social violence usually occurs where obtaining or maintaining political, economic and social power is at stake. In addition, many analysts suggest that important reinforcing links exist between the dynamics of different types of violence. These issues and linkages remain important and valid beyond a particular country or continent. Patterns may vary, but links between different types of violence seem to be present in most cases. Colombia has traditionally experienced high levels of economic and social violence, now aggravated by increasing political violence involving guerrilla, paramilitary groups and the army. Currently about 20 percent of Colombian homicides are ascribed to political violence. In Central America, economic and social violence levels were moderate before the period of armed political conflicts and subsequent peace accords. Yet, after peace agreements the Central American countries experienced a significant increase in economic violence. Similar patterns appear in Africa (e.g. South Africa, Angola) as well as in Asia, where the most recent and dramatic example is Afghanistan. The final two articles draw on examples from and comparisons with Central America. They are dealing with poor and excluded communities and with the linkages between different categories of violence, but do so from the vantage point of economic and social violence. Economic violence here implies drug trafficking, youth gang activities and other forms of organized crime, while social violence refers to “domestic” conflicts and aggression caused by unequal gender relations or other social factors. The Shape of Violence: Reflections on the Guatemalan Revolution by Staffan Löfving departs from the prevailing Guatemalan assumption that poverty is violence – structural violence to be more exact. The article deals with the ways in which the relationship between poverty and political violence has been analysed in the writings on the Guatemalan internal war and contends that the politics of identity (as political praxis and academic approach) as well as the post-modernist focus on ethnic revival tend to obscure the responsibility of the state for the formation and maintenance of oppressive social structures. When Western analysts increasingly perceive the social reality of the war torn parts of the Third World as “chaos” it becomes increasingly more difficult to identify the key causes of poverty as well as the social forces and actors that have the power to alleviate or maintain poverty and human suffering. As a consequence poverty becomes disconnected from the analytical domain of violence. Youth Gangs in Colombia and Nicaragua – New Forms of Violence, New Theoretical Directions? by Dennis Rodgers is a comparative analysis of the structure and dynamic of youth gangs in Colombia and Nicaragua, relating the emergence and expansion of this type of economic violence to other categories of violence as well as to processes of “demilitarisation” and “democratisation” which have marked Latin America in recent years. Youth gangs in Colombia and Nicaragua are seen as representing similar forms of structuring, intimately linked to wider contexts of crises and breakdown that characterize both Colombia and Nicaragua. Conventional instrumentalist and functional approaches to violence are ill adapted, Rogers argues, to explain such phenomena and processes. Some elements and concepts, such as “insurgent citizenship”, are put forward instead, as a contribution to a move in a new theoretical direction. Details: Uppsala, Sweden: Collegium for Development Studies, 2003. 141p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 22, 2013 at: http://www.kus.uu.se/pdf/publications/outlook_development/outlook18.pdf Year: 2003 Country: Central America URL: http://www.kus.uu.se/pdf/publications/outlook_development/outlook18.pdf Shelf Number: 129126 Keywords: PovertySocioeconomic VariablesViolence (Central America)Youth Gangs |
Author: Cerro, Ana Maria Title: Sources of Regional Crime Persistence Argentina 1980-2008 Summary: Crime rates vary considerably by region and these differences are found to be persistent over time. The persistence of differences in regional crime rates over time may be explained by two factors. First, differences in the regional institutional and socio-economic conditions that determine crime equilibrium levels are persistent over time. Second, the effects of shocks affecting the crime rate are persistent over time. The aim of this paper is to disentangle these two sources of regional crime persistence in Argentinean regions over 1980-2008 and subperiods for different typologies of crime. Controlling for socio-economic and deterrence effect variables, we specify an econometric model to test the persistence of shocks to crime. Results support high persistence of the effects of shocks to crime. Details: Munich: Munich Personal RePEc Archive, 2012. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: MPRA Paper No. 44482: Accessed July 13, 2013 at: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/44482/ Year: 2012 Country: Argentina URL: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/44482/ Shelf Number: 129389 Keywords: Crime Rates (Argentina)Crime StatisticsSocioeconomic ConditionsSocioeconomic Variables |
Author: Berg, Mark Title: Murders and Aggravated Assaults in Indianapolis, 2004 to 2009 Summary: This research brief employs information from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) homicide data base (called Homistat) and uniform crime reports assault data spanning 2004 to 2009, disaggregated to Indianapolis census tracts. Assaultive violence and homicide share several empirical regularities. Both are more common in densely populated urban areas characterized by socioeconomic deprivation. In this brief, we ask (a) whether these two forms of violent crime are spatially located in similar types of areas in Marion County, and (b) if they vary systematically with one another over time. The analyses reported here help identify the areas within Marion County that constantly exhibit higher levels of the most lethal forms of interpersonal violence and, in so doing, can delineate the neighborhoods and locales that require focused applications of preventive public safety resources. Details: Indianapolis: Center for Criminal Justice Research, Indiana University, 2011. 11p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 6, 2013 at: https://archives.iupui.edu/handle/2450/5122?show=full Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: https://archives.iupui.edu/handle/2450/5122?show=full Shelf Number: 129564 Keywords: Aggravated AssaultsHomicides (Indianapolis, U.S.)Socioeconomic VariablesUrban AreasViolenceViolent Crime |
Author: United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime Title: Sustainable development in an opium production environment. Afghanistan Opium Survey Report 2016 Summary: The total area under opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan is expanding, leading to a significant increase in its production, according to the latest survey report released today by UNODC. The report reveals that the total cultivation area in Afghanistan increased by 10 per cent from 183,000 to 201,000 hectares compared to the previous year. Similarly, potential opium production saw 43 per cent increase, reaching 4,800 tons in 2016. The report highlights that the impact of illicit drug cultivation and production on economic and social development in Afghanistan is multifaceted. It created an economy based on illicit activities that many communities have become dependent on the income from opium poppy to sustain their livelihoods. In fact, the value of opiates produced in that country is equivalent to a considerable portion of the country's economy in 2016 - some 16 per cent of the GDP - and was worth more than two-thirds of the entire agricultural sector of the country. The illicit economy also discourages private and public investment by fuelling insecurity, violence and insurgency, and creates costs associated with the consumption of opiates for individual drug users and their families. According to the same report, opium poppy harvesting provides labour to temporal workers, one of the most vulnerable groups in terms of poverty and food insecurity. The cultivation provided labour for an estimated 235,100 full-time jobs in 2016, and the sales of opium poppy and derivatives constituted the main source of income of opium poppy farmers, accounting for up to 57 per cent of the annual household income. However, the potential that such cultivation has for sustainably improving livelihoods seems to be limited. Opium poppy farmers reported a higher cash income than other farmers, which may provide more flexibility in the allocation of assets to cope with shocks like food insecurity. Nevertheless, the income incurred from opium was mostly used for covering basic needs such as purchasing food or medical expenses. Further, only few farmers mentioned to invest the income in assets, including agricultural tools or land with potential to build alternatives to opium poppy cultivation. Due to the scale of the drug problem in Afghanistan, the reduction of illicit crop cultivation depends on the achievement of broader development goals, such as well-established and strong state institutions for effective governance, and functioning social protection mechanisms. Also, a stronger inclusion of women into the workforce and the provision of income-generating opportunities, can reduce the dependency of households on illicit crop cultivation and empower women. The report aims to improve the understanding of the different challenges that opium poppy cultivation poses on sustainable development in Afghanistan, and to provide evidence to strengthen rural communities to resist opium poppy cultivation. The survey shows that the development of physical and social infrastructure, in particular in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to good health and well-being, and quality education, as well as a strategy to increase security and government control are needed for a sustainable reduction of opium poppy cultivation. The SDGs bring a new vision to alternative development in Afghanistan and can guide a long-term strategy that intends to transform the development paradigm to ensure that all aspects of development are considered, including security, justice, good governance and the rule of law. Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2017. 87p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 2, 2017 at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/Afghanistan/Afghanistan_sustainable_development_for_web.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Afghanistan URL: http://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/Afghanistan/Afghanistan_sustainable_development_for_web.pdf Shelf Number: 145840 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Control Heroin Opium Poppies Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Socioeconomic Variables |
Author: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Title: Afghanistan Opium Survey 2016: Cultivation and Production Summary: Key Findings Area under opium poppy cultivation increased by 10% - The total area under opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan was estimated at 201,000 hectares in 2016, a 10% increase from the previous year. Strong increases were observed in the Northern region and in Badghis province where the security situation has deteriorated since 2015. - The vast majority (93%) of opium poppy cultivation took place in the Southern, Eastern and Western regions of the country. The Southern region accounted for 59% of total cultivation; the Western for 25% and the Eastern for 9%. The remaining regions (Northern, North-Eastern and Central) together accounted for 7% only. - Hilmand remained the country's major opium poppy cultivating province, followed by Badghis, Kandahar, Uruzgan , Nangarhar, Farah, Badakhshan, and Nimroz. - All regions except the Southern experienced increase in opium poppy-cultivation in 2016, with the largest relative increase being in the Northern region (+324), followed by the Northeastern (+55%), Eastern (+44%), Central (+24%) and Western (+15%; mainly driven by increases in Badghis) regions. - The main opium poppy-growing provinces showed diverging trends. Opium poppy cultivation rose in Badghis (184%), Nangarhar (+43%) and Uruzgan (+37%) whereas decreases were seen in Farah (-57%), Nimroz (-40%), Hilmand (-7%) and Kandahar(-3%). - In the Central (+24%) and Northern (+324%) regions a strong increase was observed, albeit starting from low levels, which coincides with a deterioration of the security situation. - In 2016 the number of poppy-free provinces in Afghanistan decreased from 14 to 13. Opium poppy cultivation in Jawzjan, in the Northern region, was estimated at 409 hectares and this province lost its poppy-free status, which it had regained in 2008. The number of provinces affected by opium poppy cultivation has increased from 14 to 21 since 2009 and increase in the poppy affected provinces were mainly in Northern region. Total eradication of opium poppy decreased by 91% - Total eradication of opium poppy decreased by 91% in 2016, to 355 hectares, while more security accidents occurred than in 2015: in 2016, 8 lives were lost and 7 persons were injured. In 2015, 5 lives were lost and 18 persons were injured. - Eradication did not take place in the high opium poppy cultivating provinces, due to the extremely poor security situation in those areas and logistical/financial challenges to organize the eradication teams on time. Potential opium yield and production increased in 2016 - Potential opium production was estimated at 4,800 tons in 2016, an increase of 43% from its 2015 level (3,300 tons). The increase in production is a result of an increase in area under opium poppy cultivation, but more importantly of an increase in opium yield per hectare. - Potential opium production in 2016 might be an underestimation, since a comparison of the quality of the crop made on satellite images indicated that opium yields in Badghis could have been higher than in the other Western provinces used to calculate the regional average applied to this province. In 2016, MCN and UNODC were not able to conduct field measurements in Bhadghis, but in 2017 research will be conducted to have better insight in provincial differences - The average opium yield amounted to 23.8 kilograms per hectare, which was 30% higher than in 2015. Yield increased in all main opium poppy cultivating regions. Increases occurred in the Western region, where the average yield increased by 37% from 16.3 kilograms per hectare in 2015 to 22.3 kilograms per hectare in 2016 and the Southern region (+36%; from 16.1 in 2015 to 22.0 kilograms per hectare in 2016). - Reports from the field indicates that favourable climate condition during harvesting time may have improved the yield. Good quality crop (high plant density) has been also confirmed by satellite imagery and field photographs in the Western and Southern regions. - Accounting for 54% of national production, the Southern region continued to produce the vast majority of opium in Afghanistan. With 24% of national production, the Western region was the country's second most important opium-producing region in 2016, followed by the Eastern region (12%) and Northern region (6%). - In 2016 opium prices increased in all regions of Afghanistan. At almost US$ 0.9 billion, or the equivalent of roughly 5% of Afghanistan's estimated GDP, the farm-gate value of opium production increased by 57% in 2016 with respect to past year (not adjusted for inflation). Details: Vienna: UNODC, 2016. 65p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 14, 2017 at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/Afghanistan/Afghanistan_opium_survey_2016_cultivation_production.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Afghanistan URL: https://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/Afghanistan/Afghanistan_opium_survey_2016_cultivation_production.pdf Shelf Number: 146099 Keywords: Drug Trafficking Control Heroin Opium Poppies Socioeconomic Conditions and Crime Socioeconomic Variables |