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Giovanni Mastrobuoni (Collegio Carlo Alberto)

10 December 2012 @ 12:45

 

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Date:
10 December 2012
Time:
12:45
Event Category:

“Optimal Criminal Behavior and the Disutility of Jail: Theory and Evidence On Bank Robberies”

abstract

Based on unique data on individual bank robberies, this paper estimates the distribution of criminals’ disutility of jail. The identification rests on the money versus risk trade-off that criminals face when deciding whether to stay an additional minute while robbing the bank. The optimal duration of a robbery crucially depends on the disutility of jail. In the absence of police intervention, variability in observed durations identifies the individual disutility of jail. The distribution of the disutility, which resembles an earning distribution, is used to characterize the ability of criminals and to measure their individual responsiveness to sanctions.