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  5. Scoring the Behavioral Economics of Crime: Reflections on Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence

Journal of Economic Literature

ISSN 0022-0515 (Print) | ISSN 2328-8175 (Online)

Scoring the Behavioral Economics of Crime: Reflections on Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence

  • Robert J. Sampson
Journal of Economic Literature
vol. 64, no. 3, September 2026
(pp. 1034–57)
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Abstract

In Unforgiving Places Jens Ludwig makes a strong claim for the behavioral economics of crime, scoring it a knockout when pitted against conventional wisdom. Focusing on gun violence, he proposes a unifying explanation that draws on disciplines beyond economics, especially sociology, criminology, and psychology. Although the intended audience is mainly policymakers and the general public, scholars will benefit from reading Ludwig's thought-provoking book. In this essay, I evaluate the book's evidence and elaborate on the research needed to resolve unsettled hypotheses. I focus on several key issues, including linking self-control theory to cognitive processes, informal neighborhood social control, legitimacy in community policing, toxic environmental effects on cognition, the limits of administrative data, age-specific pathways of gun carrying, and the impact of social change. In the spirit of consilience that Unforgiving Places calls for, I argue that further engagement of the book's framework with these issues yields a promising research agenda.

Citation

Sampson, Robert J. 2026. "Scoring the Behavioral Economics of Crime: Reflections on Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence." Journal of Economic Literature 64 (3): 1034–57. DOI: 10.1257/jel.20251826

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • D11 Consumer Economics: Theory
  • D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
  • D90 Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: General
  • H76 State and Local Government: Other Expenditure Categories
  • K14 Criminal Law
  • K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
  • R23 Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics: Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population; Neighborhood Characteristics