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Terrorism: Deterrence May Backfire

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Author Info
Bruno S. Frey
Simon Luechinger

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Abstract

Present anti-terrorist policy concentrates almost exclusively on deterrence. It seeks to fend off terrorism by raising the cost of undertaking terrorist acts. This paper argues that deterrence policy is less effective than generally thought and induces in some cases even more terrorism. This is, in particular, the case if deterrence policy induces a centralisation of decision-making in the polity and economy. Therefore, an effective anti-terrorist policy should focus more on reducing the expected benefits of terrorist acts to prospective terrorists. Such a policy is based on strengthening rather than weakening decentralised decision-making.

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Paper provided by Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW in its series IEW - Working Papers with number iewwp136.

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Handle: RePEc:zur:iewwpx:136

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Related research
Keywords: Terrorism; Deterrence; Decentralization; Democracy; Federalism; Market Economy; Rational Choice; Motivation;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances
F00 - International Economics - - General - - - General
H56 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - National Security and War
K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Atkinson, Scott E & Sandler, Todd & Tschirhart, John, 1987. "Terrorism in a Bargaining Framework," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 30(1), pages 1-21, April.
  2. Lapan, Harvey E. & Sandler, Todd, 1993. "Terrorism and signalling," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 383-397, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Sandler, Todd & Enders, Walter, 2004. "An economic perspective on transnational terrorism," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 301-316, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Enders, Walter & Sandler, Todd & Parise, Gerald F, 1992. "An Econometric Analysis of the Impact of Terrorism on Tourism," Kyklos, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 45(4), pages 531-54.
  5. Volker Nitsch & Dieter Schumacher, 2003. "Terrorism and Trade," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 353, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  6. Enders, Walter & Sandler, Todd, 1996. "Terrorism and Foreign Direct Investment in Spain and Greece," Kyklos, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(3), pages 331-52.
  7. Lapan, Harvey E & Sandler, Todd, 1988. "To Bargain or Not to Bargain: That Is the Question," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(2), pages 16-21, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Lee, Dwight R, 1988. "Free Riding and Paid Riding in the Fight against Terrorism," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(2), pages 22-26, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Alberto Abadie & Javier Gardeazabal, 2001. "The Economic Costs of Conflict: A Case-Control Study for the Basque Country," NBER Working Papers 8478, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Overgaard, P.B., 1993. "The Scale of Terrorist Attacks as a Signal of Ressources," Economics Working Papers 1993-20, School of Economics and Management, University of Aarhus.
  11. Cauley, Jon & Im, Eric Iksoon, 1988. "Intervention Policy Analysis of Skyjackings and Other Terrorist Incidents," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(2), pages 27-31, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Im, Eric Iksoon & Cauley, Jon & Sandler, Todd, 1987. "Cycles and Substitutions in Terrorist Activities: A Spectral Approach," Kyklos, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 40(2), pages 238-55.
  13. Enders, Walter & Sandler, Todd, 1995. "Terrorism: Theory and applications," Handbook of Defense Economics, in: Keith Hartley & Todd Sandler (ed.), Handbook of Defense Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 9, pages 213-249 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Matthias Benz & Bruno S. Frey, . "Corporate Governance: What can we Learn from Public Governance?," IEW - Working Papers iewwp166, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  2. Armin Falk & Urs Fischbacher & Simon Gächter, . "Living in Two Neighborhoods - Social Interactions in the Lab," IEW - Working Papers iewwp150, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  3. Bruno S. Frey, . "Happiness Research: State and Prospects," IEW - Working Papers iewwp192, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  4. Aleksander Berentsen & Esther Bruegger & Simon Loertscher, . "Heterogeneity, Local Information, and Global Interaction," IEW - Working Papers iewwp182, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  5. Vicki Bier & Santiago Oliveros & Larry Samuelson, 2006. "Choosing What to Protect: Strategic Defensive Allocation against an Unknown Attacker," Levine's Bibliography 321307000000000158, UCLA Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Ernst Fehr & Klaus M. Schmidt, . "The Role of Equality, Efficiency, and Rawlsian Motives in Social Preferences: A Reply to Engelmann and Strobel," IEW - Working Papers iewwp179, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  7. Matthias Benz & Bruno S. Frey, . "The Value of Autonomy: Evidence from the Self-Employed in 23 Countries," IEW - Working Papers iewwp173, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  8. Aleksander Berentsen & Guillaume Rocheteau, . "On the Friedman Rule in Search Models with Divisible Money," IEW - Working Papers iewwp155, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  9. Jan Schnellenbach, 2005. "Appeasing Nihilists? Some Economic Thoughts on Reducing Terrorist Activity," Law and Economics 0507001, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
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  10. Bruno S. Frey & Simon Luechinger, . "Measuring Terrorism," IEW - Working Papers iewwp171, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  11. Aleksander Berentsen & Esther Brügger & Simon Lörtscher, . "On Cheating and Whistle-Blowing," IEW - Working Papers iewwp153, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  12. Enrico De Giorgi & Stefan Reimann, . "The ?-Beauty Contest: Choosing Numbers, Thinking Intervals," IEW - Working Papers iewwp183, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  13. Bruno S. Frey, . "Direct Democracy for Transition Countries," IEW - Working Papers iewwp165, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
  14. Fehr, Ernst & Henrich, Joseph, 2003. "Is Strong Reciprocity a Maladaption? On the Evolutionary Foundations of Human Altruism," CEPR Discussion Papers 3860, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. Armin Falk, Michael Kosfeld, . "It's all about Connections: Evidence on Network Formation," IEW - Working Papers iewwp146, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  16. Entorf, 2005. "Islamistischer Terrorismus: Analysen, Entwicklungen und Anti- Terror-Politik aus der Sicht ökonomischer Forschung," General Economics and Teaching 0508001, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
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  17. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, . "Direct Democracy: Designing a Living Constitution," IEW - Working Papers iewwp167, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  18. Thorsten Hens & P. Jean-Jacques Herings & Arkadi Predtetchinskii, . "Limits to Arbitrage when Market Participation Is Restricted," IEW - Working Papers iewwp176, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  19. Igor Evstigneev & Thorsten Hens & Klaus Reiner Schenk-Hoppé, . "Evolutionary Stable Stock Markets," IEW - Working Papers iewwp170, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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  20. Bruno S. Frey & Margit Osterloh, . "Yes, Managers Should be Paid Like Bureaucrats," IEW - Working Papers iewwp187, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
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