Demographic Change, Economic Conditions, and the Murder Rate: The Case of the Colombia, 1990 to 2013

• Main Author: Luis Eduardo Sandoval
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad EAFIT 2014-12-01
• Series: Ecos de Economía
• Subjects: Tasa de homicidio; Cambios demográficos; Tasa de miseria
• Online Access: http://publicaciones.eafit.edu.co/index.php/ecos-economia/article/view/2712

Recent changes in the Colombian homicides rate not consider the change in the age distribution, inflation and unemployment that can explain how misery affects homicides in the long run. Therefore, from a relevant time period for Colombia can be analyzed if recent demographic transition given by a higher percentage of young population is a robust predictor of observed changes in the homicide rate along with a corresponding measure of misery given for the sum between unemployment rates and local inflation. This helps explain the long-term relationship between the age distribution in Colombia and rising homicide rates in the 90s along with the decrease in the latter part of the 2000s. It was found that there is a relationship between age and crime, as suggested by the classical literature and there is a long-term relationship between the homicides, misery and youth population density.