Punishment � and beyond

Bruno Frey

No 418, IEW - Working Papers from Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - University of Zurich

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: D03 K42 O31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe and nep-law
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zur:iewwpx:418

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