Journal of Urban Economics, 43, January 1998.
Denise DiPasquale
Social Sciences Collegiate Division
University of Chicago
Edward L. Glaeser
Harvard University and National Bureau of Economic Research
November 1996
Abstract
The Los Angeles riot of 1992 resulted in 52 deaths, 2,500 injuries and at least $446 million in property damage; this staggering toll rekindled interest in understanding the underlying causes of the widespread social phenomenon of rioting. We examine the causes of rioting using international data, evidence from the race riots of the 1960s in the U.S., and Census data on Los Angeles, 1990. We find some support for the notions that the opportunity cost of time and the potential costs of punishment influence the incidence and intensity of riots. Beyond these individual costs and benefits, community structure matters. In our results, ethnic diversity seems a significant determinant of rioting, while we find little evidence that poverty in the community matters.
The full paper is available for download below as an Adobe Acrobat PDF File. Adobe Acrobat Reader (provided free by Adobe) must be installed on your computer in order to read the document.
The Los Angeles Riot and the Economics of Urban Unrest - la_riot.pdf (127 KB)
Left-clicking on the PDF file will launch Acrobat Reader and enable the document to be viewed on screen and then printed. Right-clicking will prompt the user to save the file to disk. The document can then be opened and printed at a later date.