Occupation, Race, Unemployment and Crime In a Dynamic System

Inthis paper, the relationship between unemployment and property crime is investigated in the context of dynamic system by using quarterly time series data for the United States during the period of 1973 (I) —1981(IV). The results of Granger's causality tests indicate that unemployment by occupation (white and blue collars) is significantly associated with robbery, which is the most serious property crime. Unemployment by race (white, black, and Hispanic) also supports the above finding. In general, the linkage between unemployment rate and property crime seems to become stronger as the degree of seriousness of crime increases.The findings of the dynamic system show that blue collar, Hispanic, and black unemployment rates have persistently positive effects on robbery.Therefore, these above findings suggest that any attempt to reduce property crime through alleviation of unemployment would most efficiently be directed towards specific categories of the labor force.

Greece and the State

Pervasive state intervention in Greece has mired the economy with large-scale inefficiencies and an uneven playing field, protecting insiders and rent-seekers to the detriment of its underlying growth potential, with the political class at the same time failing miserably to address the aspirations of the people. Fiscal consolidation and structural reform, currently pursued under the EU–IMF stabilisation programme, if vigorously implemented, are expected to strengthen the Greek economy and to contribute towards the withering away of the Greek state in its present form. The Greeks are resourceful people and will not capitulate in the face of a daunting adjustment, which may prove easier than generally expected if structural weaknesses are adequately and swiftly addressed. Greece’s future lies with rebalancing the economy towards net exports, with tourism and real estate being the primary development motors.