Economic Underpinnings of Crimes of Honor

By Yusuf Mansur

Outline
The Economics of Honor Killings
Poverty in Jordan
Methodology
Findings
Conclusions
Recommendations
10/02/09

Social scientists have long studied punishment as deterrence (e.g., Beccaria 1963; Becker 1968; Bentham 1948; Piliavin et al. 1986).
Using economic tools in the analysis of crime was first legitimized by (Becker, 1968): based on rational choice theory, subsumes that the perpetrator of a crime is a rational person who weighs prior to committing the crime, the cost and benefits from committing the crime.
10/02/09 Economics of Crime:

Studies using several data collection approaches have supported the central proposition of rational choice theory, that offenders weigh the costs and benefits of crime in deciding whether to offend
Examples:
(Bachman, Paternoster, & Ward, 1992; Bouffard, 2002a; Decker, Wright, & Logie, 1993; Exum, 2002; Grasmick & Bursik, 1990; Klepper & Nagin, 1989; Nagin & Paternoster, 1993, 1994; Paternoster & Simpson, 1996; Piliavin, Gartner, Thornton, & Matsueda, 1986; Wright & Decker, 1994)

Bouffard (2002) demonstrated that there was individual variability in the consequences reported as relevant to the decision
Rational choice theory too would seem to gain from recognizing the existence of individual differences in the perception of specific consequences as relevant as well as the ability to predict those differences (Pogarsky, 2002).

The Economics of Honor Killings 10/02/09 The Supply and Demand of Honor Crimes Net Cost/benefit Supply Demand Equilibrium Quantity of Crimes

Quantity supplied of honor crimes decreases when the net benefit decreases
Quantity demanded decreases when the net cost (the price of the crime) increases
The Supply and Demand Curves are affected by Society (Community), Government and Welfare
10/02/09 The Supply and Demand of Honor Crimes

Poverty in Jordan
According to the 2006 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), the Jordanian poverty line was JD 46.3 per person per month (JD 278 per month for a family of six, or JD 3336 per household per year).
In 2006, 13 percent of the population was below the poverty line.
The highest rate of poverty is observed in the Mafraq Governorate .
Although Amman has the lowest poverty rate of all governorates; it, due to being home to over 2 million people or one third of the population, is host to the largest number of the poor .
10/02/09

Poverty in Jordan 10/02/09 Poverty Incidence Ma’an 13% Mafraq 23% Amman 9.4 Aqaba 16% Irbid 12% Tafiela 19% Karak 22% Balqa 15% Zarqa 15% Ajlun 18% Jarash 16% Madaba 10%

Poverty in Jordan 10/02/09 Poverty Distribution Ma’an 2% Mafraq 8 % Amman 28 % Aqaba 2% Irbid 17% Tafiela 2% Karak 7% Balqa 8% Zarqa 17% Ajlun 3% Jarash 4 % Ma’an 2% Mafraq 8 % Amman 28 % Aqaba 2% Irbid 17% Tafiela 2% Karak 7% Balqa 8% Zarqa 17% Ajlun 3% Jarash 4 %

Poverty in Jordan 10/02/09

Poverty in Jordan
Poor adults have significantly lower earning potential than non-poor adults; 52% of poor adults have less than basic education, compared with a third (34 percent) of non-poor adults.
Annual earnings per employed person, as a result of lower education attainments, are lower (JD 2,266) among the poor than (JD 3,352) among the non-poor.
Poor persons are less likely to be employed than the non-poor.
The poor have a higher rate of dropping out of the labor force .
Poor households have a higher number of dependent persons to be supported by each adult.
10/02/09

Methodology
Gained access to Public Security Dep. Records and case files (102 crimes during 2000-Feb 2009)
Used data from study by IRC covering 2000-03
Team at IRC conducted interviews with inmates, 12 of 43 cases refused to be interviewed
Team at IRC collated data on victims and perpetrators
Designed methodology to deal with a highly qualitative data
10/02/09

Findings 10/02/09 Number of Honor Crimes committed against Women (2000-2009)

Findings 10/02/09 The Victims

Findings 10/02/09 The Perpetrators

Findings
If Young Λ Uneducated Λ Unemployed Λ Unwed Λ Living in High Poverty Area Definitely Poor 1
If Young Λ Uneducated Λ Unemployed Λ Living in High Poverty Area Definitely Poor 1
If Young Λ Uneducated Λ Living in High Poverty Area
Most Likely Poor
10/02/09 Logical rules to define {Poor}

Conclusion
66% of the perpetrators are Poor Males
73% of the victims are Poor Females
Given that the Poor in Jordan represent 30% of the population, the percentage of poor victims should have been 30%, not 73%
This shows a high correlation between the so-called Honor Crimes and Poverty .
10/02/09

Yusuf Mansur CEO, EnConsult [email_address] Amman, Jordan October 1, 2009

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Economic Underpinnings of Crimes of Honor

by Yusuf Mansur on Oct 02, 2009

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Economic Underpinnings of Crimes of Honor — Presentation Transcript