Income Inequality and Crime Rates in the UK - Essay Example

IMPACT OF GLOBAL INCOME INEQUALITIES ON A COUNTRY’S CRIME RATE OR LABOUR MARKET By Location Income inequalityand crime rates in the UK Introduction In recent years, researchers have sought to prove the connection between income disparity and crime rates and have been successful in doing so. The argument embedded here is that income inequality that is highly likely to attract poverty causes social tension, which in turn increases the chances of violence. This all melts down to viewing this from a cost point of view that crime tends to be more rewarding in unequal societies, which serves as the pay offs while the chances of avoiding arrest once caught through bribery might be lower (Entorf & Ali 2012, p. 656). In the UK income inequality increased in the 1980s and remained high ever since. Nobel laureate Gary Becker asserted that simple was a consequence of economic self interest and in order to reduce its rates this inequality. The result of this is that people tend to weigh the potential risks against the rewards when they commit a crime and choose to engage in crime, especially if the potential risk are low. Studies have also shown that countries that have low income inequality tend to have high expectancy rates, low number of homicide cases and high trust levels. With this, this essay will explore the impact of global income inequality on a country’s crime rate or labour market. Income inequalities Presently, countries such as Denmark and Sweden, where their equality the crime rates are lower as compared to nations such as the UK where the income inequality rate is higher hence influencing people to engage in crime so as to survive (Larsen 2013, p. 93). The implication of this is that children that are born to poor parents in the UK or in the US have low chances of becoming wealthy as compared to children in countries such as Japan and Sweden. Research has shown that these economic inequalities have a great influence on the social problems that may exist in a society. American economist Becker Gary also attested to this fact by inclining that a nation’s GDP can have a significant impact on either increasing or reducing the rates of crime within its boundaries. From this, the eradication of poverty includes reducing the income inequality gap that may exist in an economy that is doing well but still struggling with high crime rates. Violent crimes and homicides are a possible outcome of poverty stricken individuals in nations such as the US and some African states, but this might not be so in regions such as Europe. Ideally, income inequalities tend to influence social divisions, competition of status and status insecurity as much as the effects might be severe on the poor in society. According to McVeigh of the Guardian (2014), the UK was losing billions of pounds annually because of the increase in the rift between the rich and the poor, which was as per a report by Equality Trust Think Tank. Pressure has been mounting on policy makers to develop policies that are likely to reduce inequality because this issue has been overlooked for quite some with them claiming that looking into this issue is likely to decrease the crime rates in the UK. This also has the potential of increasing the life expectancy of the UK population, which will in turn make the society financial stable. Other studies have also shown that people are likely to engage in crime, especially if they feel that their neighbours earn more than them, or have expensive clothes or ride luxury cars. This might not be an observable reason, but it might as well be categorized as a psychological trait that can influence crime. In essence, this reason is termed as the conspicuous consumption that can provoke those that do not have a high income rate to commit crimes so as to satisfy the needs that they might have. From this, it would be safe to say that visible spending by the rich influences the not so privileged to engage in certain crimes in order for them to obtain the material things that they might be lacking. This then explains the number of break ins, vandalism, murder or assault directed at the rich by the poor because of the fact that the latter cannot afford these luxuries. The obvious implication here is that luxuries that the rich might have and are visible to the poor can inspire theft and other forms of crime. On the contrary, such a scenario leads to the application of strain theory that suggests that when those that are poor perceive that there is inequality, then they are likely not to commit to the societal norms (Gerber & Jensen 2007, p. 272). To them, crime becomes a more acceptable way of survival because they appear to have given up on any social expectations that they could have had, simply because the society would never allow them to become better financially. Some cities, such as Sao Paulo have understood this research far too well as most people save more than spend more on luxury items because those that invest in luxury tend to attract robberies to themselves, hence advocating the idea of being safe than living a life of luxury (Pinsker 2014). Labour market inequality Labour market inequalities arise from the changes on the original income that may either be from employment or investments, but mostly from employment, which the dominant market income for many. Essentially, the employment income that people receive draws from the amount of time that they have put into the work they do and the wage rates allocated to them as compensation for their work outputs. The factors mentioned tend to influence the amount of income for most households, which may a product of government formulated policies. On the contrary, the 2008 financial crisis influenced the tremendous loss of income for many households because the industries that they worked for could not manage to pay them for their services (McKee & Chiu 2015, p. 11). This implies that loss of income and the need for families to survive can be a possible explanation as to why individuals can opt to engage in criminal activity that they may be able to provide for their families. Another factor that can lead to labour market inequalities is that the existing job market requires people to have certain skills in order for them to qualify for these positions. Essentially, job opportunities might be there, but the poor might not qualify for them because of their education backgrounds or their lack of the skills required for such positions. Additionally, the elderly might also lose out on employment opportunities because their age might not allow for them to continue to work, meaning that their families are left to suffer if they are forced into retirement. In such instances, the children of those that have been retired forcefully or of those that do not qualify for certain positions result of criminal activities as a way of sustaining their families. When asked, most of them argue that their situations cornered them, especially them being unemployed and engage in criminal activities because this line of work does not require them to have immense skills as much as it might have risks. Others might quit formal employment because they would not feel as though they are being adequately compensated for the efforts that they give to a company, hence choosing a life of crime because to them this is more rewarding. On the other hand, the hourly wage allocated to women tends to be low as compared to that of men, which can in turn force women find alternative sources of income so as support their families (Fox & Albertson 2011,p. 106). This might be so, especially for single parents as they tend to be the sole dependants for their families and at times may engage in crime so as to provide the necessities for their children. The selfless nature of women might push them into engaging in crimes such as pushing drugs on the streets as long as they can obtain money that can be helpful to their children. In most cases, the women that lack any skill that can make them ripe for the job market tend to result to crime because it helps them obtain quick cash despite the risk factors being high. Other crimes that women that lack the required skills in the job market include child or human trafficking because the risks attached to them are low according to them. The role of reducing income inequality Reducing crime rates require the change of mindset and ways for people because law enforcement does not guarantee that crime will remain at bay. Over the years, the fighting of crime by the various law enforcement agencies has been through the instilling of fear and punishing offenders, but this has not been successful at reducing the crime rates. However, researchers suggest that only way to influence individuals to become productive members of the society is by addressing the income inequalities, which serve as a motivation for them to not to engage in crime related activities. Some solutions to this can the provision better wages, the availability of jobs that are secure, access to that can help individuals to develop themselves and family support services (Williams 2014, p. 229). By putting these systems in place, the UK will be able to eradicate the depsreation that leads most people into committing crimes with the excuse of seeking to sustain themselves. This can also lead these indiduals to aspire to become better individuals because most of them argue that they chose the life of crime because of the fact that they are income deprived. Further, handling the income and labour market inequalities can serve as a long term and sustainable way of reducing crime rates either among the poor or against the rich. In so doing, these efforts will be able to complement those of the legal and the justice departments in the fight against crime, which can help foster peaceful and crime free neighbourhoods. Another way of reducing income differences is through redistribution of taxes and benefits or also reducing pre-tax benefits differences. This means that the distribution of benefits should be equal across all classes where the poor will not perceive as though they are being treated unequally or are to be harmed by the taxes being imposed on them. Therefore, governments should strive to reduce top tax rates making room for progressive taxes to be applied for the good of the entire society. Economic democracy should also be applied so as to allow workers or employees have representation on boards and also allow them to have share ownership (Pickett 2013). Such incentives can allow employees or the working population to stay motivated and retain their job placements rather than choosing to engage in crime for them to earn a living. Essentially, these cultural changes can be helpful in reducing income inequalities while advocating for equality within society and also on global inequalities. Additionally, dealing with tax havens can also be a sure way of dealing with global market inequalities because this aspect leads to the loss of a lot of money especially for countries that are still developing. This is a way in which rich individuals are able to evade taxes while the poor have no option, but to pay taxes because they are not part of the elite people in society that have a say in such activities. In order to eradicate this inequality, it would be pertinent for societies to also engage the average citizens in the decision making process rather than making decisions by themselves then imposing it on the poor. In essence, the decision making process should be a collective process, meaning that both the rich and the poor should be equal stakeholders if a nation intends to eradicate the income and labour market inequalities that are likely to influence crime rates. The British government should also be proactive in creating job opportunities that favour that favour their population and also ensure that they provide accessible training opportunities so as to equip people for the job market. This will ensure that a majority of the British population has the opportunity to earn honest livings rather than choosing to engage in crime because they have sidelined in terms of achieving financial independence. Bibliography Albertson, K & Fox, C 2011, Crime and Economics: An Introduction, London, Routledge Press. Chiu, I H-Y & McKee, M 2014, The Law of Corporate Governance in Banks, Chelton & Camberley, Edward Elgar Publishing. Entorf, H, & Ali, MM 2012, Economics of risky behavior and sensation seeking, Stuttgart, Lucius & Lucius. Gerber, J & Jensen, EL 2006, Encyclopedia of white-collar crime, Westport, Conn, Greenwood Press. Larsen, CA 2013, The rise and fall of social cohesion: the construction and deconstruction of social trust in the US, UK, Sweden and Denmark, Oxford, Oxford University Press. McVeigh, T 2014, “Inequality costs Britain 39billion pounds a year”, The Guardian. Accessed: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/mar/16/inequality-costs-uk-billions [17 Feb. 2015] Pickett, K 2013, “reducing inequality: an essential step for development and wellbeing”, Progressive Economy. Accessed: http://www.progressiveeconomy.eu/content/reducing-inequality-essential-step-development-and-en [17 Feb. 2015] Pinsker, J 2014, “Does Inequality Cause Crime?”, The Atlanta. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/10/does-inequality-cause-crime/381748/ [17 Feb. 2015] Williams, S 2014, Introducing employment relations: a critical approach, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Read More