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Optimal imprisonment and fines with non-discriminatory sentences

Author

Listed:
  • Garoupa, Nuno
  • Mungan, Murat

Abstract

When considering the optimal combination of monetary sanctions (costless) and imprisonment (costly) as deterrents, the traditional result is that imprisonment should not be imposed until monetary sanctions are completely exhausted. Therefore, imprisonment acts as a mere supplement to maximal fines. We show that, when wealth varies across individuals, it could be efficient to use imprisonment in combination with fines that do not exhaust the wealth of all individuals. The rationale is that, generally, it is impractical to tailor criminal sanctions as a continuous function of individuals’ wealth.

Suggested Citation

  • Garoupa, Nuno & Mungan, Murat, 2019. "Optimal imprisonment and fines with non-discriminatory sentences," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 105-108.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:182:y:2019:i:c:p:105-108
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2019.06.016
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Imprisonment; Fines; Deterrence; Law enforcement;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K0 - Law and Economics - - General
    • K4 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior

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