Punishment - and beyond

Bruno S. Frey ()

No CESifo Working Paper No. 2706, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo Group Munich

Abstract: This paper argues that the “Economics of Crime” concentrates too much on punishment as a policy to fight crime, which is unwise for several reasons. There are important instances in which punishment simply cannot reduce crime. Several feasible alternatives to punishment exist, such as offering positive incentives or handing out awards for law abiding behavior. These alternative approaches tend to create a positive sum environment. When people appreciate living in a society that is to a large extent law abiding, they are more motivated to observe the law.

Keywords: crime; punishment; incentives; motivation; framing; broken window theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K42 O31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Related works:
Working Paper: Punishment – and beyond (2009)
Working Paper: Punishment – and beyond (2009)
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Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_2706

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