American Economic Journal:
Microeconomics
ISSN 1945-7669 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7685 (Online)
Crime, Broken Families, and Punishment
American Economic Journal: Microeconomics
(pp. 723–60)
Abstract
We develop a two-period overlapping generations model in which both the family structure and the decision to commit crime are endogenous and the dynamics of moral norms of good conduct is transmitted 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 possibility that criminals' sons become criminals themselves. Our model also explains the emergence and persistence of urban ghettos characterized by a large proportion of broken families, high crime rates, and high levels of peer socialization, which reinforce criminal activities.Citation
Bezin, Emeline, Thierry Verdier, and Yves Zenou. 2022. "Crime, Broken Families, and Punishment." American Economic Journal: Microeconomics 14 (4): 723–60. DOI: 10.1257/mic.20200379Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I28 Education: Government Policy
- J12 Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- 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
- Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification