The Relationship between the Business Cycle and Crime. A Literature Review

Master's Thesis from the year 2018 in the subject Business economics - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,3, University of Hohenheim, course: Markets and Consumption, language: English, abstract: From the industrialized countries to newly industrializing and developing countries of the world, violence and crime threaten social stability and are becoming major obstacles in development. It is a global phenomenon that results in the loss of property and/or lives, creates misery and is one of the most harmful social problems throughout the world. Several scholars estimate these costs with $160 billion up to $3,500 billion annually for the United States. Given these tremendous negative effects, it has become of central interest to policy makers and scholars of economics, sociology, and criminology. Understanding the determinant factors of crime is critical and provides a powerful tool to drastically reduce costs to society. Furthermore, there is no doubt that the business cycle has an omnipresent effect on economic activity, employment, individuals, and a variety of other social and economic variables.