Understanding Victimization: The Case of Mozambique

SummaryThis paper analyzes how economic and non-economic characteristics at the individual, household, and community level affect the risk of victimization in Mozambique. We use a countrywide representative household survey from Mozambique with unique individual level information and show that the probability of being victimized is increasing in income, but at a diminishing rate. The effect of income is dependent on the type of crime, and poorer households are vulnerable. While less at risk of victimization, they suffer relatively greater losses when such shocks occur. Lower inequality and increased community level employment emerge as effective avenues to less crime.