Money to Burn: Economic Incentives and the Incidence of Arson

Goebel, Paul R.; Harrison, David M.

doi:10.1080/10835547.2012.12092049

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Our analysis improves upon prior research by assembling a panel data series of the determined cause of 4.8 million fires that occurred in 362 metropolitan areas in the United States that allows us to control for time‐ and location‐specific heterogeneity not accounted for in earlier studies. Our findings complement and extend results in Goebel and Harrison () who demonstrate a statistically significant and negative relation between house price appreciation and arson in their cross‐sectional analysis of the per capita count of arson.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Our analysis complements the cross‐sectional results of Goebel and Harrison () and extends the literature in several ways. First, we assemble and use a novel panel data series of arson offenses and accidental fires arguably subject to less reporting bias compared to data from the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) System used in prior studies .…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 77%

“…More recently, Goebel and Harrison () include house price appreciation in their cross‐sectional analysis of the per capita count of arson reported in UCR data at the state and metropolitan levels. They find a negative and statistically significant relation between house price appreciation between 2002 and 2006 on the per capita count of arson in 2007, while controlling for several other well‐reasoned economic attributes.…”

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This early research found limited and conflicting evidence using highly aggregated national arson estimates where other unobserved trends may also be present, as highlighted by Brotman and Fox (). More recently, Goebel and Harrison () provide cross‐sectional evidence of a higher incidence of arson during 2007 in states with less house appreciation between 2002 and 2006, and it is an important empirical question as to whether their results generalize to other time periods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A BURNING QUESTION: DOES ARSON INCREASE WHEN LOCAL HOUSE PRICES DECLINE?

Eriksen¹,

Carson²

2015

J of Risk & Insurance

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We construct panel data on house prices and the determined cause of 4.8 million individual fires in the United States between 1986 and 2010 to test whether decreases in local housing market prices coincided with increases in arson. Since some insured homeowners may attempt to disguise the actual cause of fire as accidental, we also examine how decreases in local house prices are associated with changes in the total number of fires and the probability of determined causes of accidental fires. For the sample period, our results suggest that declines in local house prices coincided with increases in arson, the total number of fires, and the probability that fires were determined to occur due to arson and misuse. We provide further support for the existence of such an effect with empirical evidence that the relation between declines in house prices and arson is stronger in states that allow mortgage lender recourse.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A BURNING QUESTION: DOES ARSON INCREASE WHEN LOCAL HOUSE PRICES DECLINE?

Eriksen¹,

Carson²

2015

J of Risk & Insurance

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“…Socio-structural conditions related to fires Moreover, structural context may also influence firesetting. Research indicates a covariation between arson and structural conditions, such as unemployment and ethnic minority residents (Goebel & Harrison, 2012). Spatio-temporal patterns for arsons in residences, industries and motor vehicles have also been identified (Grubb & Nobles, 2016).…”

Section: Motives and Types Of School Firesmentioning

confidence: 95%

Deliberate firesetting: hotspot schools as arenas and preventive actors

Persson

Uhnoo

2019

Nordic Journal of Criminology

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Firesetting is one of the crime acts most representative of youth crime, and schools are among the buildings most often targeted, causing significant social, material and economic damage. This study examines schools as arenas with particular exposure to deliberate firesetting and as actors interpreting and utilizing their organizational scope to prevent school fires. The focus on school organizations is unique and urgently needed in research on juvenile firesetting, given their pivotal but under-researched role in crime prevention. The study is based on an in-depth analysis of data (interviews, documents and official registry data) related to 20 fire-exposed lower secondary schools in two major Swedish cities. These schools mobilized a broad repertoire of social, situational and structural measures. Interviewed school personnel perceived and responded to firesetting in relation to the institutional school setting, group dynamics, individual characteristics and local context. The schools were generally located in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas and faced comprehensive educational and social challenges. The firesetting problemand paradoxically some wellintentioned preventive effortsrisk adding further dimensions to school segregation and inequality, potentially increasing stigmatization and marginalization.

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