The Street-level Information Economics Activities: Estimating the Yield of Begging in Brussels Academic Essay

Solution

The Street-level Information Economics Activities

The research that was conducted in the article can be looked at as trusted and not trusted.  They concluded in four Hypothesis. First was that begging generating an income under the poverty line. Second was that the profit of begging is similar to criminal activity. The third was that beggars who are migrants yield a higher profit. The fourth was that begging with children yields a higher return (Adriaenssens & Hendrickx, 2011). For the first hypothesis, it can be seen as unreliable due to the factors that were placed. This is due to too many variables in the study, and the unpredictability of the study. They based this off of three different types of beggars in the area, and not the overall aspect of begging. Therefore, the numbers would not be considered reliable to assume the amount of return from begging. As stated in the reading reliability and validity must exist. Reliability is the largest portion of this factor. Reliability is determined as questions related to the stability and consistency of measurement over several trials (Mosher et al., 2011).

The second hypothesis can be seen as semi-valid. This is due to begging being linked to criminal activity in the areas. The hypothesis can be determined to be valid in terms of criminal activity, but not in terms of money made from the begging in general. The third hypothesis would be invalid due to the study that was conducted. It was historically proven that migrants yield a lower profit ratio than that of non-migrants and those with children(Adriaenssens & Hendrickx, 2011). The last hypothesis would not be valid and based on  non-conducted research activities. This is due to it being illegal in Brussels to beg with children. Many instances in Brussels begging with a child can be seen as human trafficking and is illegal. That is why the experiment was not conducted. So the data was based off of what was assumed and not what was actually found during the study and experimentation phase.

In terms of public policy, you can base some public policy on the study. It is known that beggars use children to yield higher profits, and this is considered illegal. So, in terms of basing policy on this, you can assume that they will create a policy that makes begging with other people or in a group illegal and punishable as a offense. Whereas, begging by oneself would be legal. The problem that the policy would bring is how to regulate begging. Since it is determined that they make an income, how do you factor in taxes, or other state factors. In general, begging is determined as a survival activity, and should be mildly regulated to assist in public policy and determining criminal laws and profitability.

References:

Adriaenssens, S., & Hendrickx, J. (2011, January). Street-level Informal Economic Activities: Estimating the Yield of Begging in Brussels. https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/doi/pdf/10.1177/0042098009360688.

Mosher, C. J., Miethe, T. D., & Hart, T. C. (2011). Chapter 1. In The mismeasure of crime (pp. 1–29). essay, SAGE.