CRIME AND PUNISHMENT - ECONOMIC APPROACH
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT - ECONOMIC APPROACH
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DOI：
10.1086/259394
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发表时间：
1968-01-01
影响因子：
8.2
通讯作者：
BECKER, GS
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
BECKER, GS
自世纪之交以来，西方国家的立法迅速扩大，以扭转自由放任在十九世纪的短暂统治地位。国家不再仅仅保护人身和财产免受谋杀、强奸或入室盗窃的侵犯，而且还限制对某些少数群体的“歧视”、串通商业安排、“乱穿马路”、旅行、建筑材料以及数千种其他活动。受限制的活动不仅很多，而且范围很广，影响到从事各种不同活动的人，影响到不同社会背景、教育水平、年龄、种族等的人。此外，罪犯被发现和定罪的可能性以及惩罚的性质和程度因个人和活动而大不相同。然而，尽管存在着这样的多样性，但几乎所有的立法都有一些共同的属性，这些属性构成了本文的主题：首先，遵守法律并不是理所当然的，公共和私人资源通常都用于预防犯罪和逮捕犯罪者。第二，定罪本身一般不被认为是足够的惩罚;对被定罪者还给予额外的、有时是严厉的惩罚。是什么决定了用于执行一项立法的资源和惩罚的数量和类型？特别是，为什么不同种类的立法在执行上有如此大的差异？
Since the turn of the century, legislation in Western countries has expanded rapidly to reverse the brief dominance of laissez faire during the nineteenth century. The state no longer merely protects against violations of person and property through murder, rape, or burglary but also restricts" discrimination" against certain minorities, collusive business arrangements," jaywalking," travel, the materials used in construction, and thousands of other activities. The activities restricted not only are numerous but also range widely, affecting persons in very different pursuits and of diverse social backgrounds, education levels, ages, races, etc. Moreover, the likelihood that an offender will be discovered and convicted and the nature and extent of punishments differ greatly from person to person and activity to activity. Yet, in spite of such diversity, some common properties are shared by practically all legislation, and these properties form the subject matter of this essay.In the first place, obedience to law is not taken for granted, and public and private resources are generally spent in order both to prevent offenses and to apprehend offenders. In the second place, conviction is not generally considered sufficient punishment in itself; additional and sometimes severe punishments are meted out to those convicted. What determines the amount and type of resources and punishments used to enforce a piece of legislation? In particular, why does enforcement differ so greatly among different kinds of legislation?