Homicide and Social Media: Global Empirical Evidence

EXCAS Working Paper No. WP/19/049, Forthcoming

23 Pages Posted: 5 Sep 2019

See all articles by Simplice Asongu

Simplice Asongu

African Governance and Development Institute

Joseph I. Uduji

University of Nigeria Enugu Campus

Elda N. Okolo-Obasi

University of Nigeria - Institute of Development Studies; Development Strategy Centre Nigeria

Date Written: August 29, 2019

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between social media and homicide in a cross section of 148 countries for the year 2012. The empirical evidence is based on Ordinary Least Squares, Tobit and Quantile regressions. The findings from Ordinary Least Squares and Tobit regressions show a negative relationship between Facebook penetration and the homicide rate. The negative relationship is driven by the 75th quantile of the conditional distribution of the homicide rate. The negative nexus is also driven by upper middle income countries and “Europe and Central Asia”. Three main implications are apparent when the findings are compared and contrasted. First, established findings from OLS and Tobit regressions are driven by countries with above-median levels of homicide. Second, such above-median countries are largely associated with upper middle income countries and nations in “Europe and Central Asia”. Third, modelling the relationship between Facebook penetration and homicide at the conditional mean of homicide may be misleading unless it is contingent on initial levels of homicide and tailored differently across income levels and regions of the world.

Keywords: Homicide; Social Media

JEL Classification: K42; D83; O30; D74; D83

Suggested Citation

Asongu, Simplice and Uduji, Joseph I. and Okolo-Obasi, Elda N. and Okolo-Obasi, Elda N., Homicide and Social Media: Global Empirical Evidence (August 29, 2019). EXCAS Working Paper No. WP/19/049, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3445100 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3445100

Simplice Asongu (Contact Author)

African Governance and Development Institute ( email )

P.O. Box 8413
Yaoundé, 8413
Cameroon

Joseph I. Uduji

University of Nigeria Enugu Campus ( email )

Department of Accountancy
Box 15540, Enugu
Enugu, NC Enugu 234
Nigeria

Elda N. Okolo-Obasi

University of Nigeria - Institute of Development Studies ( email )

Institute for Development Studies
University of Nigeria
Enugu, 234
Nigeria

Development Strategy Centre Nigeria ( email )

84Nza Street Independence Layout Enugu
Enugu, 400001
Nigeria
08063631111 (Phone)
400001 (Fax)

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
27
Abstract Views
391
PlumX Metrics