吴一平    芮萌 

摘要：本文利用1988-2006年中国省级面板数据，采用动态面板数据估计了收入分配不平等对刑事犯罪率的影响。研究发现，控制跨省人口迁徙、福利支出、失业率等因素并作相关的稳健性检验以后，以基尼系数度量的收入分配不平等上升1个百分点，刑事犯罪率将至少上升0.185个百分点，并且收入不平等程度不断上升会导致政府增加福利支出以降低刑事犯罪率；城市化会导致刑事犯罪率上升；提高人力资本水平和增加福利支出都会对遏制犯罪发挥重要影响。

关键词：收入分配不平等；刑事犯罪；动态面板数据；

The Impact of Income Inequality on Crime

                                     Yiping Wu   Meng Rui

(Zhejiang University of Finance & Economics ； Chinese University of Hong Kong )

Abstract: We investigate the impact of income inequality on criminal rate using the provincial-level panel data from 1988-2006 in China. We find that every 1 percent increase in the Gini coefficient that measures income inequality will elevate crime rate by 0.185 percent after controlling for the inter-provincial migration, welfare expenditure, unemployment rate and other factors. In the meantime, income inequality forces the government to increase its spending on welfare to fight crime rate. Our findings indicate that urbanization could lead to increase in crime rate, whereas improving human capital and increasing spending on welfare could have a positive impact on curbing crime rate.
Key Words：Income Inequality；Crime；Dynamic Panel Data

JEL Classification:  C33 ; D63; K42

注：本文已经被《经济学季刊》录用。