Social versus conservative democracies and homicide rates
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to critique recent findings that democratic practices are positively related to homicide rates.
Design/methodology/approach
Economic rational choice model supported by empirical evidence.
Findings
It was found that higher homicide rates are only characteristic of democracies that fail to respond to the median voter's call for equitable social development.
Originality/value
The paper makes an original distinction between conservative and social democracies, operationalizes this distinction theoretically and empirically, and shows that higher homicide rates are a phenomenon of conservative, not social, democracies.
Keywords
Citation
Marktanner, M. and Noiset, L. (2013), "Social versus conservative democracies and homicide rates", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 40 No. 4, pp. 292-310. https://doi.org/10.1108/03068291311304991
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited