via Jeffrey Miron — “Legalizing Drugs” | Harvard Thinks Big 5 – YouTube.
Jeffrey Miron — “Legalizing Drugs” | Harvard Thinks Big 5 – YouTube
02 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism Tags: drug decriminalisation, marijuana decriminalisation
Have We Lost the War on Drugs? – Gary Becker and Kevin Murphy – WSJ 2013
29 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, economics of regulation, Gary Becker, health economics, law and economics, liberalism
One moderate alternative to the war on drugs is to follow Portugal’s lead and decriminalize all drug use while maintaining the illegality of drug trafficking. Decriminalizing drugs implies that persons cannot be criminally punished when they are found to be in possession of small quantities of drugs that could be used for their own consumption.
Decriminalization would reduce the bloated U.S. prison population since drug users could no longer be sent to jail.
Decriminalization would make it easier for drug addicts to openly seek help from clinics and self-help groups, and it would make companies more likely to develop products and methods that address addiction…
A study published in 2010 in the British Journal of Criminology found that in Portugal since decriminalization, imprisonment on drug-related charges has gone down; drug use among young persons appears to have increased only modestly, if at all; visits to clinics that help with drug addictions and diseases from drug use have increased; and opiate-related deaths have fallen.
Richard A. Posner: Wire Trap | New Republic
27 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: Richard Poser, terrorism
The beginnings of justice after the liberation of the death camps
26 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, laws of war, liberalism, war and peace Tags: Crime and justice, war crimes
A Burglar’s Quest | What do burglars steal these days?
24 Nov 2014 1 Comment
in economics of crime, occupational choice Tags: Burglary
When I came out of university, it must have been the golden age of burglary. A VCR would cost $1,000, which was about two weeks’ wages back then. Small televisions could be carried away. They were about a week’s wages.
In these days of dirt cheap electrical goods, a huge flatscreen TV is about $700. I don’t know what you get for that. Not much, I suppose. Second-hand electrical goods don’t go for much these days.
Mobile phones are the new cash cows for burglars and pickpockets. Even then, it costs nothing to download a security app that kills the phone in the event of theft. I’m told the life of a stolen credit card is measured in hours.
Not surprisingly, a major factor in the decline in domestic burglaries is that they are no longer profitable. Supply and demand rules.
via Security Infographic: A Burglars Quest | ASecureLife.com.
The spill-over benefits of unobservable victim precautions such as Lojack
22 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, occupational choice Tags: crime and deterrence, crime and punishment, Steven Levitt
Ian Ayres and Steven Levitt looked at the impact of Lojack – a hidden radio-transmitter device used for retrieving stolen vehicles.
There is no external indication that Lojack has been installed, so it does not directly affect the likelihood that a protected car will be stolen.
Ian Ayres and Steven Levitt attempted to measure its general deterrence effect: they found that the availability of Lojack is associated with a sharp fall in auto theft. Rates of other crime do not change appreciably. There was also a small but observable tendency for older-model cars to be stolen. presumably because these were somewhat less likely to have a Lojack transmitter.
The marginal social benefit of an additional unit of Lojack has been fifteen times greater than the marginal social cost in high crime areas. Those who install Lojack obtain less than 10 percent of the total social benefits, leading to under-provision by the market.
Map: The most-stolen vehicle in every state
22 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics Tags: economics of crime
Judge calls for tourists to sit driving test – National – NZ Herald News
18 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of crime, economics of regulation, human capital, law and economics
Speaking through an interpreter, Judge Phillips told Sun his driving was “nothing short of atrocious”.
“You were all over the road for no reason, you were drifting around corners, cutting corners and crossing the centre line.
“It’s a classic case of why people need to have examinations done before taking control of powerful rental cars on New Zealand roads.”
I don’t think a driver’s test would fix this obviously irresponsible driver of his lack of regard for the safety of others. He does not have a skill gap as a driver. He is just plain irresponsible.
via Judge calls for tourists to sit driving test – National – NZ Herald News.
Richard A. Posner – Our Domestic Intelligence Crisis
17 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Richard Posner, war and peace Tags: national security, privacy, Richard Posner, security and intelligence, terrorism
The impact of the burglar resistant locks and windows on burglary rates
17 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of crime, law and economics, occupational choice Tags: crime and punishment, economics of crime
The Dutch government mandated the use of burglar-resistant locks and window and door frames in all new residential construction as of January 1, 1999. The regulation has now affected close to a million homes. The security was built-in and did not require any change in behaviour.
Figure 1:. Victimisation of burglary by year of construction of the home, the Netherlands
When comparing homes built just before and just after the change in the regulation, Vollaard and Van Ours (2011) found that homes with the built-in security to have a 26% lower rate of burglary.
The Economics of Crime and the Law| Levitt, Landes, Mulligan and Peltzman reflect on Gary Becker’s legacy
14 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of crime, Gary Becker, history of economic thought, law and economics, property rights Tags: Gary Becker, Sam Peltzman
Robert Hare is the world’s leading expert on psychopathy – part one: on psychopaths being untreatable
13 Nov 2014 1 Comment
in economics of crime Tags: psychopathy, Robert Hare
How to spot law-abiding people with DUI convictions
10 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of crime Tags: crime and punishment
Fraudster Alan Knight jailed for £40,000 scam after pretending to be in a coma for two years | Daily Mail Online
08 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, welfare reform Tags: crime and punishment
doctors spotted Knight – pictured with wife, Helen – eating, wiping his face and writing while he was in hospital for observations
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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