The certainty versus the severity of punishment, repeat offenders, and stigmatization

Murat C. Mungan

Economics Letters, 2017, vol. 150, issue C, 126-129

Abstract: There is a widely held presumption among criminologists that the certainty of punishment p is a greater deterrent than the severity of punishment (s). This presumption is at odds with recent experimental work as well as the implications of simple law enforcement models. This article shows that when offenses may be committed repeatedly, p may have a greater deterrent effect than s, even when each individual offender is more responsive to sthan p. This resolves the discrepancy between experimental results and the common belief held among criminologists.

Keywords: Repeat offenders; Escalating punishment schemes; Declining punishment schemes; Stigma; Criminogenic effects; Certainty of punishment; Severity of punishment; Deterrence; Risk attitudes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K00 K10 K14 K40 K42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:150:y:2017:i:c:p:126-129

DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2016.11.030

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