The Diversity of Homicide

This study uses the theory of institutional anomie to examine the impact of decommodification on homicide rates in the United States. Decommodification refers to the implementation of social welfare policies and programs aimed at ameliorating the harsh effects of market fluctuations on the lives of individuals. The protection afforded to individuals and the assurance of a minimum living standard are expected to have a diminishing effect on homicide rates. Time series regression techniques are used to look at the relationship between decommodification and homicide rates in the 20th century. The results support the existence of a relationship, point to a temporal shift in the correlates of homicide rates, and have methodological implications for conducting time series analyses. INTRODUCTION One characteristic of contemporary U.S. society is heightened public concern regarding rising violence rates. However, historical studies indicate that incidents of violence and aggression in America have actually declined since the 1800s (Ferdinand, 1967; Gurr, 1989). Long-term declines in violence have largely been attributed to forces associated with industrialization and modernization that changed the structure and organization of major social institutions as well as the work and leisure activities of individuals (Chesnais, 1992; Lane, 1989, p. 59; Lane, 1999, p. 122). Among other things, these broad sweeping changes resulted in the development of more stringent social control mechanisms. Related to the modernization process is the concept of decommodification. Decommodification refers to the stabilizing effects that social welfare policies and programs have on society and on the lives of individuals (Esping-Andersen, 1990). In an attempt to examine the impact of decommodification on crime and violence rates, Messner and Rosenfeld (1997) recently conducted a cross-national analysis of 45 nations from the perspective of institutional-anomie theory. Since social welfare programs are intended to ameliorate the oppressive effects of market fluctuations, decommodification should have a dampening effect on crime and violence rates. The policies and programs that constitute decommodification serve as a buffer--functioning to protect individuals and insure a minimum standard of living for all societal members. Messner and Rosenfeld (1997) found support for the theory of institutional anomie in that nations with higher levels of decommodification exhibited lower homicide rates. This study uses the applications of Messner and Rosenfeld (1997) as the basis for further investigation of the relationship between decommodification and lethal violence rates in the United States. However, the present study is distinct in that it utilizes time series techniques to