Direct and Indirect Effects of Individualism and Institutions on Homicides
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Direct and Indirect Effects of Individualism and Institutions on Homicides Vinicius V. Zanchi1 · Philipp Ehrl2 · Daniel T. G. N. Maciel2 Accepted: 26 October 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract The present paper evaluates whether people in highly individualistic cultures have a lower propensity to commit homicides, using data from 70 countries. Several previous papers report a significant negative correlation between these two variables, but it is not well established whether the effect of culture on this form of violent crime is direct or indirect. We estimate a structural equation model that includes: (a) the possibility that either culture or institutions affect the homicide rate, (b) a link between individualism and institutions and (c) credible exogenous information used as an instrumental variable for individual‑ ism. Our results show that individualistic nations generate a more effective judicial system, which is mainly responsible for the variation in homicide rates across countries. That is, individualism affects homicides only indirectly through the quality of legal institutions. We also find that different types of institutions have a similar relation to individualism, how‑ ever, the moderating effect on homicides is more pronounced for legal or political institu‑ tions than for economic institutions. Keywords Culture · Homicides · Institutions · Judicial system JEL Classification C26 · H73 · P37 · P48
1 Introduction Crime is the result of a behavioral distortion between individuals and the community caus‑ ing inefficiency, slowing economic growth, generating persistent social costs and a reduc‑ tion in the quality of life (Spencer and Liu 2019; Detotto and Otranto 2010; Fajnzylber
* Philipp Ehrl [email protected] Vinicius V. Zanchi [email protected] Daniel T. G. N. Maciel [email protected] 1
Banco Do Brasil, Brasilia, Brazil
2
Catholic University of Brasilia, SGAN 916, Economia, Brasilia 70790‑160, Brazil
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V. V. Zanchi et al.
et al. 2002). Although there are laws, crime is present in all countries and at all levels of income. Laws, regulations, and sanctions are ways of dissuading people from committing an offense, i.e., reducing the crime supply in the sense of Becker (1968). But such factors are not the only ones to restrain crime, as the literature also points to the importance of the psychological, social and cultural aspects (Yamen et al. 2017; Lappi-Sepälä and Lethi 2014). Recognizing the effect of culture on individuals’ behavior is widespread, and cul‑ ture is responsible for a series of social phenomena (Hofstede 1983; Seleim and Bontis 2009). In-depth studies about how culture affects crime and especially homicides are still rare, however. The present research is dedicated to estimating the effect of individualism on the homi‑ cide rate in a cross-section of 70 countries using the Hofstede (2011) individualism-collec‑ tivism measure which is one of the most frequently used cultural indicators.1 This paper presents the following t
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