Your Reading Assignment for the Weekend...

...is this study of criminal-justice policy in post-war Germany, which confirms the venerable hypothesis that it is the certainty of being prosecuted for crime -- and not the severity of the eventual sentence -- that generates deterrence.

There will be a pop quiz on Monday, which may include methodological questions. Happy reading!

Comments

[John]

Very interesting; on the surface, also very convincing.

Beccaria lives!

I love it when centuries' old wisdom is confirmed...

[Till]

There was an article in last week's Economist, by the way, which criticised the excessive use of incarceration in the US. Seems that the middle ground is the safest once again.