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Replication Data for: Good Policy can Lower Violent Crime: Evidence From Fixed Effects Estimation in a Cross-National Panel of Homicide Rates, 1980-97, Journal of Peace Research 40 (6), 2003, pp. 619-640

Harvard Dataverse (Africa Rice Center, Bioversity International, CCAFS, CIAT, IFPRI, IRRI and WorldFish)

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Title Replication Data for: Good Policy can Lower Violent Crime: Evidence From Fixed Effects Estimation in a Cross-National Panel of Homicide Rates, 1980-97, Journal of Peace Research 40 (6), 2003, pp. 619-640
 
Identifier https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/0IFFYZ
 
Creator Neumayer, Eric
 
Publisher Harvard Dataverse
 
Description This article provides empirical evidence that good political governance and good economic policies can
lower homicide rates. Therefore, violent crime is not simply determined by modernization, population
characteristics, and cultural factors. This result follows from rigorous econometric testing based on a
cross-national panel of homicide data from up to 117 countries over the period 1980–97. Contrary to
most existing studies, which have applied ordinary least squares on data drawn from one time period
only, this analysis uses a fixed-effects estimator with fully robust standard errors. A fixed-effects estimator
elegantly controls for time-invariant determinants, such as cultural factors, and allows the
pooling of homicide data from otherwise incompatible sources. This is complemented by random-effects
estimation in sensitivity analysis. The results suggest that economic growth, higher income levels,
respect for human rights, and the abolition of the death penalty are all associated with lower homicide
rates. The same is true for democracy at high levels of democracy. The transition from autocracy to
democracy is likely to be accompanied by a rising homicide rate, however, until full democracy has
been reached. Results also indicate that policies aimed at improving equity have no effect on violent
crime. In particular, there is evidence that the positive effect of income inequality on homicide rates
found in many studies might be spurious. The results reported here are strikingly similar to those found
for the causes of civil war.
 
Subject Social Sciences
 
Contributor Neumayer, Eric