The Economics of Crime and Justice

This edited volume presents a survey of empirical work on different aspects of the economics of crime and the legal system. The book begins by laying out the foundational ideas in the field and previewing the major themes, which span crime and development, incarceration, judicial behavior, capital punishment, policing, credit access, education, government revenue, and plea bargaining. The chapters that follow tackle a wide range of research questions. One strand of the volume examines how infrastructure and development shape criminal opportunity, using evidence from electricity blackouts in South Africa to explore whether darkness and disruption create conditions for increased criminal activity. Another strand focuses on the prison system, investigating whether the geographic distance between an inmate's home and their facility affects the likelihood of reoffending.

The volume also explores how access to secondary markets and education shape crime. The relationship between pawn shops and criminal activity is studied across both modern and historical settings, while another study evaluates whether alternative education programs reduce juvenile offending. Together, these chapters demonstrate how researchers from across different fields in economics contribute to our understanding of crime and the criminal justice system.