P051 - In search of a criminological Kuznets curve: evidence from Northern and Southern Europe

• In Event: Poster Session & Ice Cream Social

Abstract

The Kuzets curve in economics states that with economic development first comes increasing then decreasing rates of economic inequality. In general, more developed European economies tend to be wealthier and equal economies. Our preliminary research indicates that various types of crime follow a similar trend: first, increasing up to about 8,750 euros per capita, then dropping again. This trend holds for the Northern European country of Lithuania, and we are currently testing this model with other “older” European Union countries.
We propose various explanations for this phenomenon. Firstly, we find that petty crime is more common in poorer countries. As the economies of countries develop and they become more wealthy, forms of crime tend to change. Naturally, petty crime still exists, but financial crime becomes more prominent in the case of Lithuania, and becomes more difficult to discover and prosecute. We are testing this model with Southern European countries presently.

Authors

• Vincentas Giedraitis, Vilnius University

• Andriy Stavytskyy, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

• Ganna Kharlamova, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

• Erstida Ulvidienė, Vilnius University

• Tomas Karpavicius, Vilnius University

• Brigita Kavaliauskaite, Vilnius University