Crime in Turkey and Economic Indicators: A Panel Data Analysis

Abstract

A number of studies have shown that unemployment rate and income inequality are two important indicators of crime. This study first investigates the effect of unemployment rate on crime for 81 provinces in Turkey. Secondly, this study aims to evaluate possible differences within female and male groups. By using regional level data from 2015 to 2019, ordinary least squares method, fixed effects models, and two stage least squared models are employed to estimate the relationship between unemployment rate, income inequality, and crime rates. To tackle down the endogeneity issue observed between crime rates and unemployment rate, an instrumental variable approach is employed. The findings suggest that unemployment rate was powerfully related to the incidence of crime by male and female.