Working Paper

Punishment - and beyond

Bruno S. Frey
CESifo, Munich, 2009

CESifo Working Paper No. 2706

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.

CESifo Category
Social Protection
Keywords: crime, punishment, incentives, motivation, framing, broken window theory
JEL Classification: K420,O310