Work

Crime, deterrence and punishment revisited

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: Despite an abundance of empirical evidence on crime spanning over 40 years, there exists no consensus on the impact of the criminal justice system on crime activity. We construct a new panel data set that contains all relevant variables prescribed by economic theory. Our identification strategy allows for a feedback relationship between crime and deterrence variables, and it controls for omitted variables and measurement error. We deviate from the majority of the literature in that we specify a dynamic model, which captures the essential feature of habit formation and persistence in aggregate behaviour. Our results show that the criminal justice system exerts a large influence on crime activity. Increasing the risk of apprehension and conviction is more influential in reducing crime than raising the expected severity of punishment.

Source: Empirical Economics

DOI: 10.1007/s00181-019-01758-6

Authors: Maurice J. G. Bun, Richard Kelaher, Vasilis Sarafidis, Don Weatherburn

Institutions: University of Amsterdam, De Nederlandsche Bank, The University of Sydney, Monash University, Government of New South Wales

Language: English

Topic: Law, Economics, and Judicial Systems

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,690