Gary Becker, the economist, established the benchmark model for studying crime from an economic perspective. He made the assumption that rationality is behind the act to commit a crime. It does not have to be the kind of hyper rationality of mainstream economics, but if criminals know they can get away with the act they are more likely to commit the crime. In an ad hoc sense, if criminals know that the reward of criminal activity is greater than the cost, they are more likely to steal, which we see in Guyana also leads to gruesome murders.
Therefore, let us outline first some of the possible scenarios involved in the economics of crime. In doing so we can achieve insights into two areas: (i) is the theory applicable to Guyana? (ii) What solutions does the theory propose? A first factor in determining the hours or time spent in criminal activity is the income from criminality. If the expected rewards are great people are likely to commit the crime. Second, hours spent in crime is negatively related to the pay and employment activities available in the legal economy. As expected, as legal opportunities emerge the level of criminal activities will likely decline.
Third, cash flows from sources other than crime and legal employment are also important for
