Analyzing the Relation between Robbery and Income Inequality using Bayesian Approach: (The Case of Iran)

Crime is a phenomenon studied from the perspective of sociology, psychology, law and economics. From the economic point of view, when economies face with economic problems such as inflation, unemployment, poverty, income inequality, and high necessary costs and so on, the expected rise in crimes is inevitable. Generally, robbery has a high share in economic crimes. In this study, an attempt is made to analyze the relationship between income inequality and robbery in Iran within a Bayesian model and Jeffry Prior approach. The period under study is from 1996 to 2012. The educational expenditure and inflation are used as control variables. The results indicate a positive relation between robbery and income inequality. Also, there is a negative relation between educational expenditure and robbery; however, the inflation has no significant effect on the robbery.