Must-Read: Kostadis J. Papaioannou: “Hunger Makes a Thief of Any Man”: Poverty and Crime in British Colonial Asia

Must-Read: Kostadis J. Papaioannou: “Hunger Makes a Thief of Any Man”: Poverty and Crime in British Colonial Asia: “Extreme rainfall, both droughts and floods, lead to a large increase in property crimes (such as robbery, petty theft and cattle raiding)…

…but not to an increase in interpersonal violent crimes (such as murder, homicides and assault)…. We offer evidence that loss of agricultural income is one of the main causal channels leading to property crime. Additional historical information on food shortages, poverty and crime is used to explore the connection in greater detail…