of the central theory, including: activity level; errors; the costs of imposing fines; general enforcement; marginal …This chapter of the forthcoming Handbook of Law and Economics surveys the theory of the public enforcement of law — the …

of firm level decisions with optimal government policy. We also find that enforcement may not always be decreasing in its … cost, and that governments will optimally enforce segmentation if enforcement costs are not too high. …

Economists generally view environmental enforcement as a tool to secure compliance with regulations. This paper … demonstrates that credible enforcement significantly increases statutory overcompliance with regulations as well. We find that many … plants with discharges typically below legally permitted levels reduce discharges further when regulators issue fines, even …

Economists generally view environmental enforcement as a tool to secure compliance with regulations. This paper … demonstrates that credible enforcement significantly increases statutory over-compliance with regulations as well. We find that … many plants with discharges typically below legally permitted levels reduce discharges further when regulators issue fines …

of public enforcement of law — the use of public agents (inspectors, tax auditors, police, prosecutors) to detect and to … sanctions, the magnitude and form of sanctions (fines, imprisonment), and the rule of liability. We then examine a variety of … extensions, including the costs of imposing fines, mistake, marginal deterrence, settlement, self-reporting, repeat offenses, and …