Does the economic model of optimal punishment explain the variation in the sentencing of murderers? As the model … respond to victim characteristics in a way that is hard to reconcile with optimal punishment. In particular, victim … optimal punishment model predicts that victim characteristics should be ignored. Among vehicular homicides, drivers who kill …

dissonance, increasing the severity of punishment could increase the crime rate. This paper demonstrates that that conjecture was … punishment is not severe. The rationalization may lead them to underestimate the expected utility of committing crimes when … opportunities present themselves. If punishment is severe, then rationalization may not be necessary and people may be more likely …

of engaging in crime and therefore, a priori drawing the conclusion that criminal activity cannot be altered by … induced by capital punishment. Research findings about the deterrent effect of the death penalty evoke strong feelings, which … punishment is good or bad, nor does it provide any judgment about whether capital punishment should be implemented or abolished …

purporting to show robust and precise estimates of a substantial deterrent effect of capital punishment. We assess the various …

Economic theory predicts that increasing the severity of punishments will deter criminal behavior by raising the … expected price of committing crime. This implicit price can be substantially raised by making prison sentences longer, but only …

United States to investigate the impact of capital punishment on homicide. This data set is merged with state panels that … include crime and deterrence measures as well as state characteristics to analyze the impact of executions and governors …

, primarily through an increase in guilty pleas. Pre-trial detention has no detectable effect on future crime, but decreases pre …-trial crime and failures to appear in court. We also find suggestive evidence that pre-trial detention decreases formal sector …