Using crime data for the 48 continental and conterminous US states and the distribution dynamics approach, this paper detects two distinct phases in the evolution of the property crime distribution: a period of strong convergence (1971-1980) is followed by a tendency towards divergence and...

This paper aims to investigate the long-run relationship between crime, inequality, unemployment and deterrence using state-level data for the US over the period 1978-2013. The novelty of the paper is to use non-stationary panels with factor structures. The results show that: i) a simple crime...