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Eur J Law Econ (2015) 39:145166 DOI 10.1007/s10657-012-9357-9
Mojtaba Ghasemi
Published online: 12 September 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012
Abstract This paper purports to consider visceral factors inuences on the criminal behavior in the current literature of economics of crime and analyze the optimal and actual criminal law through Beckers model. First, it tries to investigate the comparative responsiveness of different kinds of crime to the deterrence variables and verify the hypothesis that visceral factors are more inuential on the committing of violent crimes through surveying 15 empirical studies. The result of this survey veried that violent crimes are less responsive to the deterrence variables than non-violent crimes. Relatively higher inuence of visceral factors on the committing of violent crimes can be considered through lower amounts for crime supplys punishment and probability of apprehension elasticities in the Beckers model. Optimality in this framework implies that these crimes should be punished leniently that implicitly indicates that expected punishment doesnt work as deterrent in this case. From a policy making point of view, because visceral factors play a strong role in committing violent crimes, severe punishment may be ineffective and preventive policies addressing the roots of violent, visceral crimes may represent a superior alternative.
Keywords Visceral factors Deterrence hypothesis Law enforcement
JEL Classication D03 K14
1 Introduction
Since Becker (1968), economists have generated a large body of literature on crime. After his seminal paper, some economists have tried to extend his theoretical model and some others have tried to empirically test the deterrence hypothesis.
M. Ghasemi (&)
University of Siena, Siena, Italy e-mail: [email protected]
Visceral factors, criminal behavior and deterrence: empirical evidence and policy implications
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146 Eur J Law Econ (2015) 39:145166
According to theoretical predictions of this hypothesis an increase in both the probability of apprehension and the severity of punishment reduces the level of crime. Theoretical models of criminal behavior have been tested by a large number of empirical studies and the effect on crime of the probability and severity of punishment and also of benets and costs of legal and illegal activities has been estimated. The inuence of norms, tastes, and abilities, corresponding to constitutional and acquired individual characteristics, have in some cases been studied indirectly by including variables like age, race,...