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Punishment and Crime: The Impact of Felony Conviction on Criminal Activity

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  • Osborne Jackson

Abstract

This paper uses increases in felony larceny thresholds as a negative shock to felony conviction probability to examine the impact of punishment severity on criminal behavior. In the theft value distribution between old and new larceny thresholds (“response region”), higher thresholds cause a 2 percent increase in the average larceny value within 120 days of enactment. However, within five years of enactment, response region average larceny values and rates decline 2 percent and 13 percent, respectively, in low-wage areas. Thus, under certain market conditions, smaller expected penalties may reduce incentives and deter crime in the long run.

Suggested Citation

  • Osborne Jackson, 2019. "Punishment and Crime: The Impact of Felony Conviction on Criminal Activity," Working Papers 20-1, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedbwp:87611
    DOI: 10.29412/res.wp.2020.01
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Osborne Jackson & Thu Tran, 2020. "Larceny in the Product Market: A Hidden Tax?," Working Papers 20-14, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    2. Osborne Jackson & Riley Sullivan, 2020. "The Impact of Felony Larceny Thresholds on Crime in New England," New England Public Policy Center Research Report 87612, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    felony conviction; larceny thresholds; crime; theft; labor supply;
    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
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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