Justice Efficiency and Crime Deterrence

Daria Denti and Marco Di Cataldo ()
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Daria Denti: Gran Sasso Science Institute
Marco Di Cataldo: Ca’ Foscari University of Venice

No 2026: 06, Working Papers from Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari"

Abstract: Efficient justice is regarded as crucial for deterring crimes. This paper assesses the impact of a reform of the criminal justice system advocated by European institutions and implemented in Italy, significantly reshaping the geography of first-instance courts in the country through court mergers. We evaluate the reform's effects on justice efficiency and crime rates. Event study and difference-in-differences estimates reveal that the efficiency of criminal courts improved significantly as a result of the reform. This contributed to limiting property and organised crimes, while violent crimes were unaffected. These results support the idea that the deterrence effect of justice efficiency applies mainly to 'rational' crimes, while criminals acting under impulsive and less rational circumstances do not internalise information about justice in their decision-making.

Keywords: crime; judicial reform; court mergers; justice efficiency; Italy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K14 K42 P43 Z18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 69 pages
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ven:wpaper:2026:06

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