Smarter spending in security
Governments in Latin America are already allocating a considerable share of
their resources to public order and safety. Not surprisingly, higher
spending occurs in countries with higher crime rates—countries like El
Salvador and Jamaica already spend more than 2 percent of their GDP on this
matter.
While this substantial spending may be necessary to mitigate and deter
crime, it also suggests that implementing more effective strategies could
free up significant resources for other spending priorities. The IADB’s
Security and Justice Evidence-based Platform is a valuable resource for
scientific evidence on the effectiveness of existing security and justice
solutions. The platform highlights, for instance, that there is little
evidence that vehicular license plate recognition technologies reduce
transportation-related violence, whereas alcohol tax and price policies are
found to effectively reduce violence in some cases.
Crime is an economic and social issue with far-reaching consequences and a
variety of intertwined roots. If governments in the region were able to
prioritize more effective crime-fighting strategies, these would not only
enhance public safety but also improve the region’s economic potential.
This underscores the importance of collaboration between policymakers,
international financing institutions, academia, non-governmental
organizations, and the private sector to find ways to deal with this
important obstacle to growth in the region.
Source link : https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2023/12/18/latin-america-can-boost-economic-growth-by-reducing-crime
Author :
Publish date : 2023-12-18 03:00:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
