Crime is a major activity in the US, with implications for poverty and the allocation of public and private resources. The economics of crime focuses on the effect of incentives on criminal behavior, the way decisions interact in a market setting; and the use of a benefit-cost framework to...

1. Introduction -- 2. Humans and venison -- 3. Victims of progress -- 4. Rural philosophy and natural law -- 5. From a 'modest proposal' to eugenics -- 6. Invisible hand and visible injury -- 7. Value, risk and deviant innovation -- 8. Marginal utility and the hidden economy -- 9. Socialism for...