Robbery is a serious, widespread and sometimes violent crime resulting each year in costs to victims of several billion dollars. Data on the incidence of robbery reveals certain striking racial disparities. African-Americans are more likely to be victims, arrestees and prisoners than are members...

Metropolitan areas in the United States are characterized by both geographic concentration in robbery rates, and racial segregation in residential patterns. We argue that these two phenomena are closely connected. Robberies typically involve incomplete information about the likelihood of victim...