SUMMARY
This paper is a first attempt at analyzing the determinants of crime in Chile. Weemploy a static panel for the thirteen regions of Chile from 1988 to 2000. Followingthe standard Becker-Ehrlich model, the empirical model includes variousvariables linked to incentives to commit crimes, such as legal and illegalincome (from labor and crime, respectively), legal income opportunities (capturedby regional unemployment) and a measure of regional police efficiency,measured as the ratio of crime reports and captures. In addition, we includedemographic and socioeconomic variables that may also explain the evolutionand dispersion of crime, namely the gender, age and urban-rural compositionof the population, human capital variables (schooling and literacy), and variousrelative and absolute poverty measures.The main conclusion is that the incentive-related variables explain an importantpart of the variation of economically-motivated crimes; Robbery, Drugsand Fraud. However, except for the unemployment rate, these variables do notexplain the variation of other, largely non economically-motivated crimes,namely Rapes, Murder and Manslaughter, and Physical aggression.Finally, while the gender, age and urban-rural composition of the populationexplain part of the variation of crime, we find that human capital and povertymeasures do not offer robust and conclusive results, which confirms what hasbeen consistently reported in the empirical literature.