Should Offenders’ Gains Be Counted? On Efficient Crimes and Unjust Laws

Thomas Miceli

No 2021-02, Working papers from University of Connecticut, Department of Economics

Abstract: The question of whether or not offenders’ gains should be counted in social welfare dates back to Stigler’s original critique of the Becker model, but the debate has generally been carried out within the context of optimal law enforcement, while taking the content of law as given. This paper extends the discussion to the question of what acts should be made illegal. It does this by viewing the Becker model of crime through the lens of the Coase-Calabresi-Melamed framework for assigning and protecting legal entitlements in conflicting-use situations. The practice of civil disobedience—the breaking of laws deemed to be unjust—is discussed in light of the analysis. JEL Classification: K14, K42 Key words: Economics of crime, offenders’ benefits, law enforcement, lawmaking, civil disobedience

Pages: 34 pages
Date: 2021-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-law and nep-ore
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