Editors' introduction

摘要

The four papers published in this issue were presented at the October 2010 Panel meeting, generously hosted by the Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance in Rome. Whereas for a long time, crime in the US was more widespread than in Europe, both property and violent crimes (with the exception of homicides) have been more widespread in Europe than in the US since the early 1990s. During this period, crime rates in the US have been falling whereas those in Europe have kept on increasing.