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Expressive Law and Escalating Penalties: Accounting for the Educational Function of Punishment

Author

Listed:
  • Miceli Thomas J.

    (Department of Economics, University of Connecticu, Storrs, USA)

Abstract

The pervasiveness of law enforcement schemes that prescribe harsher penalties for repeat offenders continues to challenge scholars who seek an economic explanation for criminal justice policies. The current paper formalizes an explanation suggested by Dana, D. (2001. Rethinking the puzzle of escalating penalties for repeat offenders. Yale Law J. 110: 733–783), which is based on the role of the law in educating people about wrongful behavior—the so-called “expressive function” of law. The analysis shows that an escalating structure that imposes a lenient sanction on all first-timers and a harsh sanction on repeaters represents a compromise solution that is (second best) optimal if the fraction of unknowing offenders in the population of potential offenders (as opposed to rational calculators) is sufficiently large.

Suggested Citation

  • Miceli Thomas J., 2023. "Expressive Law and Escalating Penalties: Accounting for the Educational Function of Punishment," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 19(3), pages 245-261, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:rlecon:v:19:y:2023:i:3:p:245-261:n:2
    DOI: 10.1515/rle-2023-0015
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    criminal law; escalating penalties; repeat offenders; expressive law;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K14 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Criminal Law
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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