Criminality and socioeconomic disadvantage: a spatial analysis throughout Brazilian municipalities

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study uses situational action theory (SAT) to analyse the effects of socioeconomic disadvantages on criminality rates (namely, robbery) in Brazilian municipalities. To achieve this objective, the variation of robberies per thousand inhabitants was used as a proxy for criminality, estimating its determinants using a spatial panel data set. As a result, we identified social disadvantage greater effect (i.e. variation of the mean Education and Health Firjan indices) when compared to economic disadvantage on the criminality in Brazilian municipalities. This effect was more noticeable in regions with poorer social infrastructure. Moreover, the crime environment to which individuals are exposed has a positive association in the determination of illegal acts, confirming arguments made by SAT.