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Crime Can Be a Giffen Good: The Role of Need in Criminal Labor Supply

W. Bentley MacLeod

American Law and Economics Review2025https://doi.org/10.1093/aler/ahaf006article
AJG 2ABDC B
Weight
0.50

Abstract

Building on Becker (1968) and Ehrlich’s (1973) model of crime, this paper shows that under the appropriate conditions crime is a Giffen good: increasing deterrence can lead to an increase in crime. This result relies upon two conditions. The first is that individuals are choosing between how much time to allocate between leisure and crime as an income-earning activity. Second, in the absence of income from criminal activity, individuals do not have access to sufficient resources to fund necessary consumption. Evidence consistent with this hypothesis is discussed. This in turn may provide an additional reason why crime reduction is so challenging. The optimal policy is derived, and it is shown that it entails a combination of redistribution and an appropriately set level of deterrence that varies with the level of social inequality.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/aler/ahaf006

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@article{w.2025,
  title        = {{Crime Can Be a Giffen Good: The Role of Need in Criminal Labor Supply}},
  author       = {W. Bentley MacLeod},
  journal      = {American Law and Economics Review},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1093/aler/ahaf006},
}

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

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