Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.3935/zpfz.75.2.2
Money and Crime – Theoretical and Practical Discussions From Economic and Criminological Perspectives
Vedran Recher
orcid.org/0009-0001-4145-5023
; Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Petra Šprem
orcid.org/0000-0003-4396-6887
; Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Money and crime are closely interconnected. This connection can be viewed from several important perspectives: sociological, economic, criminological, and even political. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the economic and criminological aspects of these two categories and to deepen the understanding of how money influences crime and vice versa. This discussion may serve as a starting point for further debate on the “cost of crime” in Croatian society – an issue currently underestimated within the Croatian academic sphere.
Furthermore, an individual's economic status is a significant etiological factor in the commission of certain types of crime, and as such, it must be studied holistically—not solely through criminological frameworks, but also through an economic lens, especially considering that the quality of criminal justice policy is inseparable from the material resources allocated to it. In this context, the authors will also address the recent debate on universal basic income, which could potentially have a significant impact on crime prevention as well as overall societal well-being.
The interwoven economic and criminological perspectives in the discourse on crime are not commonly explored in the Croatian academic landscape, and therefore, the authors hope that this paper will encourage a multidisciplinary approach to the study of crime in the Republic of Croatia.
Keywords
money; crime; universal basic income; economics of crime
Hrčak ID:
336835
URI
Publication date:
20.10.2025.
Visits: 178 *