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CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR AND THE GAINS FROM CRIME
Author(s) -
McPHETERS LEE R.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
criminology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.467
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1745-9125
pISSN - 0011-1384
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-9125.1976.tb00009.x
Subject(s) - punishment (psychology) , criminology , relation (database) , criminal behavior , psychology , criminal behaviour , empirical research , economics , social psychology , mathematics , computer science , statistics , database
A number of economists recently have applied tools of economics to analysis of crime. The resulting models of criminal activity typically postulate that crime is positively related to gains porn crime and inversely related to the probability of punishment. While empirical studies have confirmed this latter effect, the relation between gains from crime and criminal activity has not been satisfactorily examined. This paper specifically tests the empirical relation between criminal behavior and the gains from crime. The unsettling possibility that decreases in the gains from crime my lead to increases in the number of crimes is discussed .