A CRIMINALIDADE NA REGIÃO METROPOLITANA DE SALVADOR

Abstract

This paper approaches the question of increasing crime rates in the Metropolitan Region of Salvador (MRS), taking as reference the aggregate of crimes as well as the specific modalities of theft and robbery and offenses against patrimony. Trying to understand a little bit more about the phenomena of criminality in that region, this paper contains an analysis about the importance of a set of explanatory variables over these modalities of offense, using panel data and a model based on supply curves of crime, usual instruments of the economics of crime. The econometric results showed that some variables, such as level of education, police efficiency, income concentration, demographic density, urbanization, and municipality and local government income levels are important to explain the crime rates experimented in that region. Specifically expansions of the levels of police efficiency education, demographic density, municipality and local government incomes, as well as reductions in the levels of income concentration and urbanization, contribute significantly to reduce those crime rates in the MRS.