Coste económico del delito: una comparación Costa Rica y Honduras: reflexiones sobre los métodos de estudio

Abstract

The article is a reflection on some of the main methods of study on the “economic cost of crime”, such as: the method of contingency, the opportunity cost, the method of hedonic prices, method of accounting losses and expenses, analysis of national accounts. In this article the analysis of the methods are combined with statistical data, which are derived from a survey of 1200 households conducted in Costa Rica and Honduras, survey data on citizen security and violence, Maras and Gangs in Central America and a comparative analysis of national accounts from 2006 to 2010. In addition, qualitative data derived from the application of the Incomplete-Sentences Test (IST) is analyzed.