Convergence of violent crime in the United States: Time series test of nonlinear

This study examines the violent crime convergence among the fifty one states in the United States. The chosen method for this analysis is nonlinear unit root test due to Kapetanios et al. (KSS, 2003), which was later extended by Chong et al. (CHLL, 2008). KSS-CHLL nonlinear unit root was applied for the test of nonlinear convergence among the fifty one states with respect to the national average for the period 1960 to 2007. Result of the study indicates that eight cases of long run converging, two cases of catching up, while the remainder forty one are diverging from the national average.