Empirical Models of Criminal Behavior: How Significant a Factor is Race?

In: The review of black political economy: analyzing policy prescriptions designed to reduce inequalities, Volume 15, Issue 1, p. 27-43

Abstract

Empirical models of the supply of criminal offenses in the United States have shown a positive relationship between the proportion of the population that is non-white (RACE) and crime rates. Though non-whites in the United States possess more "criminal capital" than the average person, such studies do not take into consideration this excess criminal capital. Since RACE and the omitted excess criminal capital are correlated, it will pick up the influence of the excess criminal capital. Using cross-sectional data from Florida's municipalities, we show that after adjusting for excess criminal capital, RACE has no significant relationship with crime.