a model of the adjustment of sentences assuming that the state's objective is the optimal deterrence of crime. In the … model, the state can lower or raise the sentence based on deterrence-relevant information that it obtains about a criminal … during imprisonment. Our focus on sentence adjustment as a means of promoting deterrence stands in contrast to the usual …

Theories of crime in economics focus on the roles of deterrence and incapacitation in reducing criminal activity. In … the large variation in the effect of deterrence on crime. Hence, optimal policy is a combination of deterrence, work … addition to deterrence, a growing body of empirical evidence has shown that both income support and employment subsidies can …

We present a simple model of the effects of hate crime legislation. It shows that even if the direct harm to victims of … hate crime is the same as for other crimes, because of other differences in the effects it may still be optimal to exert … more law-enforcement effort to deter or prevent hate crime. These differences also have previously unrecognized effects on …

. While both economic and deterrence variables are important in explaining the decline in crime, the contribution of … deterrence measures is larger than those of economic variables …

Economic theory predicts that increasing the severity of punishments will deter criminal behavior by raising the … expected price of committing crime. This implicit price can be substantially raised by making prison sentences longer, but only … if offenders' discount rates are relatively low. We use a large sample of felony arrests to measure the deterrence effect …

Strong sentences are common "tough on crime" tool used to reduce the incentives for individuals to participate in … participating in crime may adjust. I use California's Three Strikes law to identify several effects of a large increase in the … combined with the high cost of violent crime relative to non-violent crime implies that Three Strikes may not be a cost …

therapies and crime rates. We describe recent trends in crime and review the evidence showing mental illness as a clear risk … pharmaceutical therapies for the treatment of mental illness which diffused during the "great American crime decline." We examine … limited international data, as well as more detailed American data to assess the relationship between crime rates and rates of …

is found to be almost as effective in reducing violent and property crime as locking up other types of offenders. We … estimate that cocaine prices are 10-15 percent higher today as a consequence of increases in drug punishment since 1985. Based …

Does the economic model of optimal punishment explain the variation in the sentencing of murderers? As the model … predicts, we find that murderers with a high expected probability of recidivism receive longer sentences. Sentences are longest … in murder types where apprehension rates are low, and where deterrence elasticities appear to be high. However, sentences …

the observed relationship between arrest rates and crime rates. To differentiate between deterrence and incapacitation … of increased arrests for one crime on the commission of that crime, where deterrence and incapacitation are … suggests that an increase in the arrest rate for one crime will reduce all crime rates; deterrence predicts that an increase in …