Perception of Insecurity and Consumption: Evidence from the City of Palmira (Colombia)

Abstract

In this paper we seek to determine the incidence of the perception of insecurity on individuals´ consumption decisions in Palmira city (Colombia). We analyze data from the "survey of victimization and perception of security in Palmira 2017" using Logit and Probit models estimates. The central finding is that consumers anticipate to the likelihood of becoming victims of a crime when they decide to consume different types of goods, diverting their resources towards less risky activities. The relevance of the findings lies on the insights they provide to local authorities, so that they can adjust private and public security strategies by focusing not only on objective data (crime rates) but also on the subjective component of insecurity (citizen perceptions of insecurity).