In this chapter the author discusses the trend in criminal activity in the United States and what the possible causes are for it's decrease in the early 1990's. They discuss several theories of why the crime rates have decreased including, increased numbers of policeman, stricter gun laws, changes in drug markets, and abortion laws. The chapter does a good job of evaluating the various theories that economists and others have about why the crime rates decreases. The author brings up some interesting points that make you think differently about something that may seem obvious. He also discusses at length how abortion has an effect on crime rates. Most people would not think that there would be a relationship between crime and abortion however he brings up a good theoretical point that makes us think that it could be possible.
The author states that babies that a mother would have aborted but didn't receive less attention and care than a wanted baby. Therefore, they grow up in worse conditions and may be more prone to criminal activity than a baby growing up in a loving and healthy environment. Something that I thought was interesting was his critique on whether or not Rudy Giuliani really had the huge impact that people thought he did on crime in New York City. He points out that the man that was mayor before him actually implemented a lot of things at the same time as crime rates were decreasing. He says that crime rates started to go down before Giuliani was even in office. I would argue that although this may be true, there could have been other factors that cause crime rates to go down. Possibly his strong leadership presence, initiative, knowledge, and dedication played a large role in reducing crime as well. I think the author may be looking too strongly into the numbers and concrete facts of these scenarios rather than immeasurable aspects such as the ones I just listed that can also have effects on certain things like the crime rate.
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