The Impact of Population Heterogeneity and Income Inequality on Homicide Rates

Abstract

The current research produces regression models with sample sizes from 127 to 131 by initially employing a data set of 170 nations. The current study finds that ethnic heterogeneity and linguistic heterogeneity lead to higher homicide rates. However, religious heterogeneity has no impact on homicide rates. The present article also tests an interaction effect between population heterogeneity and income inequality. Unlike J. R. Blau and Blau (1982) and Avision and Loring (1986) proposition, the interaction term is not related to national homicide rates. The current study also discusses the theoretical implications of those findings.

A Comprehensive Evaluation of the Association between Percent Young and Cross-National Homicide Rates

“…Five per cent (n = 7) of models showed a significant negative association between percent young and cross-national homicide rates. Eighty-two per cent (n = 120) of the models found a non-significant association between percent young and homicide rates, and several studies found consistent non-significant effects across all models in the study (Conklin and Simpson 1985;Avison and Loring 1986;Gartner 1990;Neapolitan 1994Neapolitan , 1997Neapolitan , 1998Savolainen 2000;Altheimer 2008;Pridemore 2008;Cole and Gramajo 2009;Pridemore 2011;Chon 2012;Rogers and Pridemore 2013). Thus, while many scholars continue to accept as a stylized fact the impact of the relative size of the young population on national homicide rates, the evidence shows only 13 per cent of all models in the empirical literature found the expected positive association.…”

National Religious Affiliation and Integrated Model of Homicide and Suicide

“…Ethnic diversity may be associated with competitions and conflicts among different ethnic groups for limited resources in a country, such as social welfare, which are in turn related to the level of homicide rate in a society. In contrast to ethnic diversity, religious diversity is not necessarily connected to such conflicts, because people enjoy a free exercise of different religions in many Western countries (Chon, 2012).…”

“…Given the importance of population heterogeneity as an element of social disorganization theory (Sampson & Groves, 1989), previous cross-national researchers explored the impact of religious fractionalization or heterogeneity and violence levels in society (Altheimer, 2008; Chon, 2012). Community members often have difficulty in controlling deviant behavior in an area with diverse ethnolinguistic and religious groups, which in turn makes the society vulnerable to violence.…”

“…Community members often have difficulty in controlling deviant behavior in an area with diverse ethnolinguistic and religious groups, which in turn makes the society vulnerable to violence. Prior empirical studies have failed to provide much empirical support for the relationship between religious heterogeneity and homicide rates, although some studies have found a positive link between ethnic heterogeneity and homicide rates (Altheimer, 2008; Chon, 2012).…”

Reliability and validity of cross-national homicide data: a comparison of UN and WHO data

“…Multiyear averages were created for the years 2008-2012 to control for yearly fluctuations (and to some extent, measurement errors) in homicide rates (Altheimer, 2008;Cao & Zhang, 2015;Chon, 2011;Krahn, Hartnagel, & Gartrell, 1986). Due to the skewed distribution of homicide rates, the natural log was applied (Altheimer, 2008;Elgar & Aitken, 2011;Sun, Chu, & Sung, 2010); the same solution was applied to other independent and control variables that deviated from a normal distribution.…”