Kelly, MorganMorganKelly2008-09-162008-09-16Copyright2000-11Review of Economics and Statistics0034-6535http://hdl.handle.net/10197/523This paper considers the relationship between inequality and crime using data from urban counties. The behavior of property and violent crime are quite different. Inequality has no effect on property crime but a strong and robust impact on violent crime, with an elasticity above 0.5. By contrast, poverty and police activity have significant effects on property crime, but little on violent crime. Property crime is well explained by the economic theory of crime, while violent crime is better explained by strain and social disorganization theories.4304 bytesapplication/pdfenCrime--Sociological aspectsViolent crimesOffenses against propertyJournal Article82453053910.1162/003465300559028https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/