Evidence on the deterrent effect of capital punishment is important for many states that are currently considering a change in their position on the issue. We examine the deterrent hypothesis using county-level post-moratorium panel data and a system of simultaneous equations. The procedure we...

This chapter summarizes the literature on the economic analysis of criminal law. First, it discusses the positive theory of criminal behavior and reviews the empirical evidence in support of the theory. Then, it discusses the normative theory of how public law enforcement should be designed to...