Self-study
P1
Determining the most effective way to deter deliberate crimes, such as fraud, as opposed to impulsive crimes, such as .
Problem ·
Most effective way to deter deliberate crimes
One side's position ·
Crimes a product of societal norms and institutions
That side's solution ·
Change attitudes, improve economic opportunity, rehabilitate
Other side's position ·
Crimes a product of individual choice
Other side's solution ·
More penalties
Author's solution ·
The two positions above are complementary, not opposed
P2
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Explain author's solution ·
Principle of utility maximization
Decision to commit a crime is an economic decision that weighs the likely benefits ("utilities") of different actions
P3
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Application of principle ·
to problem of crime deterrence
A person commits a crime when that person believes the benefits outweigh the risks
Elaborate on author's solution ·
Combine penalties with improved economic opportunity
More penalties increase the risks of committing a crime. Improved economic opportunity decreases the benefits of committing a crime (as compared to law-abiding activities).
Passage Style
Critique or debate
Problem-analysis
3.
The explanation of the utility ████████████ █████████ ██ ███ ███████ ████████ ████ █████ ███ ██ ███ █████████ █████ ██ █████ █████████████ █████████ ██ █ ████████ ████████ ██ ████████ ██████████ ███ ██████████████
a
In order to ██████ ███ ██████ █ ██████ ████████ █ █████ ████ ██ ███ ███ ██████ ████ ███ ██████████ ███████ ██ ████████ ████ ██ ██ ████ ████████ ████ ████ ████ ██ ████████ ███ ██ ████ ██ ██████████
This is a rational response according to the UM principle. The waiter has an incentive to conceal his tip income: he wants to reduce his taxes. And he thinks punishment is very unlikely, so he has little disincentive.
b
A motorist avoids ████████ ██ █ ███████ ███████ ██ ████ ███████ ███ █████ ████ ██ ██ ███████ █████████ ███ ████ █ ████████ ██████ ████ ████ ██ ████ ██ ███ ████████ ████████
This is a rational response according to the UM principle. The motorist has a strong disincentive to speed, so she avoids speeding.
c
An industrialist continues ██ █████████ █████████ ██ █████████ █████████ ████ █ █████ ███████ ███ ████ ██ █████████ ███ ███████ ███ ████ ███ █████████ ███████████ ███ ██████████
This is a rational response according to the UM principle. The cost of lawful behavior (treating the pollutant) is greater than the cost of unlawful behavior (not treating it), so the industrialist takes the unlawful action. There’s a greater disincentive to take the lawful action than to take the unlawful one.
d
A government official ██ ██ ████████████ ███████ █████ ███████████ ███ ██████████ ██████ ███████ ███████ █████████ ███ ████████ ███ ██████████ ██████ ██████████ ██ ███████ ███ ███ ███ ███████
This is a rational response according to the UM principle. The official has a strong incentive for soliciting bribes: her salary can’t support her and her family. To her, this outweighs the disincentive of the risk of prosecution.
e
A worker physically ████████ ███ ██████ ██████████ ██ █ ███████ █████████ ███████ ██ ███ ████ █████████ ████ ███ ███ ███ ██ ████████ ████ ███ █████████ ███ ███████████ ███ ███████
This isn’t a rational response according to the UM principle. The worker is acting based on notions of fairness, not based on a weighing of the incentives and disincentives of taking an action.