TY  - JOUR
AU  - DiPasquale,Denise
AU  - Glaeser,Edward L.
TI  - The L.A. Riot and the Economics of Urban Unrest
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 5456
PY  - 1996
Y2  - February 1996
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w5456
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w5456.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Denise DiPasquale
President and Founder
City Research - General
111 Atlantic Ave, Suite 311
Boston, MA  02110
E-Mail: dipasquale@cityresearch.com

Edward L. Glaeser
Department of Economics
315A Littauer Center
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: 617/495-0575
Fax: 617/495-7730
E-Mail: eglaeser@harvard.edu
AB  - 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 costs 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.
ER  -