Crime rates in Latin America are among the highest in the world,
creating climates of fear and lawlessness in several countries. Despite
this situation, there has been a lack of systematic effort to study
crime in the region or the effectiveness of policies designed to tackle
it. The Economics of Crime is a powerful corrective to this academic
blind spot and makes an important contribution to the current debate on
causes and solutions by applying lessons learned from recent
developments in the economics of crime.The Economics of Crime
addresses a variety of topics, including the impact of kidnappings on
investment, mandatory arrest laws, education in prisons, and the
relationship between poverty and crime. Utilizining research from within
and without Latin America, this book illustrates the broad range of
approaches that have been efficacious in studying crime in both
developing and developed nations. The Economics of Crime is a vital
text for researchers, policymakers, and students of both crime and of
Latin American economic policy.