Victimisation, Well-being and Compensation: Using Panel Data to Estimate the Costs of Violent Crime

Abstract

The costs of violent crime victimisation are often left to a tribunal, judge or jury to determine, which can lead to considerable subjectivity and variation. Using panel data, this article provides compensation estimates that help reduce the subjectivity of awards by providing a benchmark for the compensation required to offset direct and intangible costs. Individual-area fixed-effects models of well-being that allow for adaptation and the endogeneity of income suggest that, on average, A$88,000 is required to compensate a violent crime victim, with the amount being greater for females (A$102,000) than males (A$79,000).