Criminal Deterrence: A Review of the Literature

Authors

Aaron Chalfin, University of Pennsylvania
Justin McCrary, Columbia Law SchoolFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2017

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20141147

Abstract

We review economics research regarding the effect of police, punishments, and work on crime, with a particular focus on papers from the last twenty years. Evidence in favor of deterrence effects is mixed. While there is considerable evidence that crime is responsive to police and to the existence of attractive legitimate labor-market opportunities, there is far less evidence that crime responds to the severity of criminal sanctions. We discuss fruitful directions for future work and implications for public policy.

Disciplines

Criminal Law | Law | Law and Economics

Comments

Copyright © 2017 by the American Economic Association.

Recommended Citation

Aaron Chalfin & Justin McCrary, Criminal Deterrence: A Review of the Literature, 55 J. Econ. Lit. 5 (2017).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/3203