ECON 3255

Economics of Crime

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2020-2021.

This course will focus on economic models of crime and punishment, and on empirical evidence that evaluates the models. The first part of the course will introduce economic models of crime and study what factors motivate and deter criminal behavior. Then we will turn to empirical evidence and will discuss the role of higher fines, imprisonment, death penalty, abortion, drugs, guns and other factors in deterring crime. In the end of the course we will discuss corruption and whether it is harmful or beneficial to society. Special focus of this class is on cost and benefits of various policies related to crime. Each class we will discuss policy implications.

When Offered Fall.

Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: PAM 2000 and PAM 3100 or equivalent courses in the Economics Department.

Distribution Category (SBA-AS, SSC-AS)

• After taking this class students will be able to apply theoretical economic analysis to predict and analyze criminal behavior.
• Students will be able to apply methodology to interpret empirical evidence on crime - for example, distinguish whether evidence has a causal interpretation or not.
• Students will be able to propose their own empirical methodology to study various questions.
• Students will be able to discuss costs and benefits of various policies related to crime.

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