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Punishment Severity and Crime: The Case of Arkansas

Author

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  • Barati Mehdi

    (School of Social Science and Global Studies, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS39402, USA)

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of a marginal change in punishment severity on the incidence of crime. I explore Arkansas’ (AR) milder punishment for theft, which was adopted in 2011 in order to deal with prison overcrowding. The decrease in punishment contributed to growing theft rates in AR, suggesting criminals respond to the reduced crime-specific punishment. The findings also indicate that the likely lower incarceration for theft did not lead to an increase in other types of crime.

Suggested Citation

  • Barati Mehdi, 2019. "Punishment Severity and Crime: The Case of Arkansas," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 15(1), pages 1-23, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:rlecon:v:15:y:2019:i:1:p:23:n:5
    DOI: 10.1515/rle-2017-0025
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    Cited by:

    1. Barati, Mehdi & Adams, Scott, 2019. "Enhanced penalties for carrying firearms illegally and their effects on crime," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 207-219.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    crime; punishment; sentence enhancement; deterrence; incarceration;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • K14 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Criminal Law

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