Closing Date: June 15, 2012.

The Inter-American Development Bank has launched a call for research proposals on the measurement of costs of crime and violence in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is an effort to quantify the negative consequences of this phenomenon, inform the public policy debate, and provide tools for systematic and robust analysis of citizen security policies promoted by governments.

Crime and violence are the top concerns of citizens in the region and absorb a substantial amount of government resources and efforts. Crime and violence are obstacles to the economic growth and social development of countries in the region, as they negatively affect the business climate and the well-being of the citizens, especially the most vulnerable groups in society.

Proposals may focus on tangible and/or intangible costs of crime and violence in one or more countries in the region. Tangible costs include, for example, investments by people and communities to avoid being victims of crime and violence and expenditure on activities to identify and prosecute offenders. Some of the intangible costs that could be evaluated are the losses of social capital, well-being, equanimity, freedom, and trust.

Each selected research proposal will receive IDB financial support of up to US$35,000. Projects with additional funding from other institutions to complement this financing will receive special consideration.

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