IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bpj/rlecon/v18y2022i2p179-198n1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Of Coase, Cattle, and Crime: Why the Becker Model is Compatible with a Moral Theory of Criminal Law

Author

Listed:
  • Miceli Thomas J.

    (Professor, Department of Economics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA)

Abstract

The economic model of crime is often portrayed (and criticized) as being contrary to a moral theory of criminal law. This paper advances the opposing view that the two theories are in fact potentially compatible with one another. The basis for this claim is that, whereas the Becker (1968. Crime and punishment: an economic approach. J. Polit. Econ. 76: 169–217) model is useful in prescribing a theory of optimal enforcement of the law, it does not, and indeed cannot, provide a definitive prescription for its content. The reason is the reciprocal nature of harm in situations involving incompatible rights, a principle first identified by Coase (1960. The problem of social cost. J. Law Econ. 3: 1–44) in the general context of externalities. The paper develops this argument, offers a formal demonstration of it, and draws out some of its implications.

Suggested Citation

  • Miceli Thomas J., 2022. "Of Coase, Cattle, and Crime: Why the Becker Model is Compatible with a Moral Theory of Criminal Law," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 18(2), pages 179-198, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:rlecon:v:18:y:2022:i:2:p:179-198:n:1
    DOI: 10.1515/rle-2022-0010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1515/rle-2022-0010
    Download Restriction: For access to full text, subscription to the journal or payment for the individual article is required.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1515/rle-2022-0010?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    criminal law; externalities; the coase theorem; moral theory of law; civil disobedience;
    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

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bpj:rlecon:v:18:y:2022:i:2:p:179-198:n:1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.degruyter.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.