Hot crime: economic analysis and insight into the relationship between a city's latitude and its rate of violence

Author

Erin K. Piepenbrok, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Date of Graduation

5-2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Economics

Advisor/Mentor

Stapp, Robert B.

Abstract

Every day in America, a case of violent crime makes headlines across the television, newspapers, websites, and social media. These tragedies deeply affect those directly involved and the communities in which the crimes take place. Not only are individuals physically and mentally affected by violent crime, but communities and cities suffer an economic loss from rising violent crime rates. Reducing the current rates of violent crime (robbery, assaults, rapes, and murders) can reduce costs for cities and taxpayers, while ultimately improving the quality of life for Americans. Research into what affects violent crime rates lead to discoveries that unemployment, gun ownership, and more interestingly, temperature, were some of the factors that affects a city’s violent crime rate. This study aims to expound on the temperature variable by examining a previously unstudied variable – latitude – on a city’s violent crime rate. This study aims to conduct an economic analysis through multi-variable regressions in support of the hypothesis that the latitude of a city does in fact have significance in a city’s violent crime rate. Thirty seven major American cities were analyzed and the results are presented in this paper.

Citation

Piepenbrok, E. K. (2014). Hot crime: economic analysis and insight into the relationship between a city's latitude and its rate of violence. Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/econuht/7