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Lethal victimization and inequalities in Brazil: Evidence at a municipal level

Abstract

This paper deals with the relation between lethal violence and inequality under two approaches. The first one is the inequality in the risk of becoming a victim of homicide among various kinds of people. In this sense, the profile of victims of lethal violence in Brazil is very clear: young black males. The second approach concerns the relation between income inequality and homicide rates. This relation depends on the unit of analysis. Data analysed here, using a multivariate model to estimate factors associated to municipal homicide rates, reveal that it is the average income of the poorest sections of the population rather than income inequality that is directly related to lethal violence. These results contradict those obtained in the literature when countries are compared to each other, which underlines the importance of the choice of unit of analysis.

Keywords:
Lethal Victimization; Homicides; Inequality; Brazil

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