Economic restructuring, political ideologies, and urban crime rates: 1947--1998
Description
The twentieth century has witnessed remarkable economic and political changes, the impacts of which have been felt across the United States. U.S. economic restructuring has resulted in shifts in the composition of labor markets, as well as significant changes in the very nature of employment. How have these shifts affected urban crime? This research uses longitudinal, comparative and historical methods to examine the effects of economic restructuring and political shifts on rates of crime. I analyze economic, political, and crime data for four U.S. cities: Atlanta, Boston, Detroit and New Orleans. Although similar in terms of above average crime rates over most of the post-World War II era, these cities differ in terms of the political-economic changes each has experienced during this same time period. In terms of economic conditions, the most consistent finding across cities is that rates of crime tend to increase as manufacturing employment decreases. Increases in service employment do not appear to necessarily lead to increased crime. These findings hold controlling for changes in industrial wage structures. In terms of political conditions, those cities that emphasize criminal justice at the expense of social welfare tend to exhibit higher rates of crime than cities that do not. Inequality does not influence crime rates except in those cities and at those periods in time where inequality is particularly high. In sum this research suggests that political and economic conditions have influenced crime rates, in unanticipated ways, across the post-World War II urban landscape