Crime, Broken Families, and Punishment

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bezin, Emeline; Verdier, Thierry; Zenou, Yves
• 署名单位: Universite Catholique Louvain; Universite Catholique Louvain; Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro; Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK; Monash University
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-MICROECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7669
• DOI: 10.1257/mic.20200379
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 723-760
• 关键词: cultural transmission; education; DYNAMICS; city; behaviors; networks; location; HEALTH; POLICY; youth

摘要

We develop a two-period overlapping generations model in which both the family structure and the decision to commit crime are endog-enous and the dynamics of moral norms of good conduct is trans-mitted intergenerationally by families and peers. By destroying biparental families and putting fathers in prison, we show that more intense crime repression can backfire because it increases the possi-bility that criminals' sons become criminals themselves. Our model also explains the emergence and persistence of urban ghettos charac-terized by a large proportion of broken families, high crime rates, and high levels of peer socialization, which reinforce criminal activities. (JEL I28, J12, J15, K42, R23, Z13)