LAW ENFORCEMENT EXPENDITURES AND URBAN CRIME

Abstract
While determinants of police expenditures have received considerable treatment in the public expenditure literature, the role of criminal activity as a determinant of such expenditures has not been analyzed to any definitive degree. Further, evidence on the crime deterring effect of police expenditures has been mixed and largely in conflict with economic theories of criminal behavior. This paper develops and empirically tests a simultaneous model wherein crime and police expenditure functions are seen to be interdependent and jointly determined. The implications of the findings for police resource allocation and crime control are discussed.

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