SSRN Electronic Journal
This study explores the economic determinants of the homicide rate while controlling for the law enforcement and demographic variables in addition to the spatial diffusion in the homicide rate. Using prefectural level data from 1987 to 2012 in Japan and spatial econometric approach, this study finds that deteriorating labor market conditions are significantly related to the homicide rate. Particularly, the homicide rate rises with the unemployment rate within and across prefectures. Moreover, the demographic composition plays a substantial role in predicting the rate of homicide in Japan and that the elderly group is significantly implicated in homicide crime in Japan. We find a positive association between the presence of police stations and the homicide rate. Finally, the results convey a negative spatial diffusion in the homicide rate across Japanese prefectures which supports the spatial crime displacement hypothesis in the Japanese case.