Resumen en inglés

A large academic literature argues that socio-economic factors have effects on homicidal violence in regions and localities. However, Colombia seems to challenge this traditional view: despite socio-economic progress, its homicide rate has not significantly decreased. In pursuit of explanations for this phenomenon, factors related to governance quality appear to offer a potential explanation for the prevailing violence in the country. This perspective aligns with a research path that, while not extensively explored, has recently gained prominence, indicating a strong inverse relationship between governance quality and homicide levels. In the present study we investigate this hypothesis through an econometric analysis, utilizing data pertaining to local government quality and homicide rates, for the three principal cities of Colombia—Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali—during the period 2011-2021. Our findings show that both the investment rate in security and justice, and police performance— variables representing various aspects of governance quality—have a significant and inverse association with the homicide rates. These results suggest that research on crime should investigate the impact of governance quality on homicides at a local level.