The Law and Economics of Fluctuating Criminal Tendencies and Incapacitation
Abstract: This aritcle considers the effect of relaxing the oft employed assumption in the law enforcement literature that individuals have fixed criminal benefits. It demonstrates that once fluctuating criminal tendencies are assumed and the incapcitative effect of punishment is considered, many legal practices can be justified based on efficiency grounds. These include the different treatment of repeat offenders and first time offenders, murder and voluntary manslaughter, and remorseful versus non-remorseful offenders.
