The Death Penalty: No Evidence for Deterrence

John J. Donohue () and Justin J. Wolfers
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Justin J. Wolfers: The Wharton School- U.Penn, CEPR, IZA & NBER

The Economists' Voice, 2006, vol. 3, issue 5

Abstract: John Donohue and Justin Wolfers argue that Gary Becker and Richard Posner are wrong to think that the death penalty deters murder: they find little empirical support for the claim. If anything, when one looks over the longest period possible (1934-2000) there is more evidence that the death penalty stimulates murder than that it deters murder.

Keywords: death penalty; capital punishment; deterrence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006

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