Is it greed or need that causes crime in contemporary consumer societies? In five brilliant chapters world-leading criminologists Richard Rosenfeld and Steven F. Messner explore issues from market morality to welfare policies. With their trade-mark mastery of theoretical tools and empirical data they provide a stunning overview of ideas and research, and impress with fresh insights into a classical problem of criminology. This book will fascinate students as much as advanced researchers.
Susanne Karstedt
Professor of Criminology, University of Leeds
The relationship between crime and the economy is surprisingly
complex, frequently defying easy description. In this slim and highly readable volume Rosenfeld and Messner deftly lead us through these complexities, making a convincing argument that the strength of social institutions provides the key link between poor economic performance and rising crime rates.
Gary LaFree
University of Maryland
