A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Income Inequality, Poverty, and Fear of Crime in Europe




AuthorsKujala Pietari, Kallio Johanna, Niemelä Mikko

PublisherSAGE journals

Publication year2019

JournalCross-Cultural Research

Volume53

First page 163

Last page185

eISSN1552-3578

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1177/1069397118799048

Web address https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1069397118799048


Abstract

Studies of fear of crime in Europe associate country-level income inequality with fear of crime. However, by considering only income inequality these studies do not account for the effects of poverty. This article provides a more comprehensive perspective through multiple country-level indicators of income inequality and poverty and thereby provides important insights into fear of crime. The research data consist of the European Social Survey, Round 7 (2014), and country-level indicators provided by Eurostat. The results show that the Gini coefficient, S80/S20 ratio, and material deprivation are positively associated with fear of crime. The association is statistically significant but is moderate at best. However, the association between the relative median at-risk-of-poverty risk gap and fear of crime is not statistically significant. Education and income only appear to be mediators between material deprivation and fear of crime. Trust appears to be a mediator between the country-level indicators and fear of crime.



Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 16:32