A cross-national study of the association between natural resource rents and homicide rates, 2000–12
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2016
Keywords
Ecological disorganization, inequality and homicide, natural resource curse, social disorganization
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370816661741
Abstract
Countries that rely on natural resource rents (that is, the revenue generated from the sale of natural resources) may suffer from a variety of social problems. This exploratory study reviews the natural resource extraction literature to derive a ‘natural resource rents–homicide’ hypothesis. Data for 173 countries for the years 2000 to 2012 are examined to determine if there is a correlation between natural resource rents and homicide rates. Multilevel growth models suggest that natural resource rents are positively correlated with homicide rates within countries (level 1) but not between them (level 2). Importantly, the correlation between natural resource rents and homicide is strongest when natural resource rents are lagged. We conclude by suggesting that increasing natural resource rents may be counterproductive over the long run and sow the seeds for a future increase in homicide.
Rights Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
European Journal of Criminology, v. 14, issue 4, p. 393-414
Scholar Commons Citation
Stretesky, Paul B.; Long, Michael A.; and Lynch, Michael J., "A cross-national study of the association between natural resource rents and homicide rates, 2000–12" (2016). Criminology Faculty Publications. 19.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cjp_facpub/19
