Abstract
Cesare Beccaria is widely acknowledged by the pioneers of the economics of crime as an important influence on their work, especially in terms of deterrence and proportionality of punishment. However, there is much more nuance to Beccaria’s writings that economists can learn from, including a unique psychological point of view that predates behavioral law-and-economics, as well as aspects of his prescriptions regarding criminal penalties that resemble retributivism, a theory of punishment often contrasted with deterrence. A deeper appreciation of Beccaria’s work may result in a richer and more humanistic economic approach to crime.
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Notes
Throughout this paper, the parenthesized references cite the chapter number as well as the page number from the Hackett edition of Beccaria (1764).
It should be noted as well that Bentham acknowledged Beccaria’s influence on his thought, particularly in the chapters of the Principles discussing proportionality in punishment.
I thank an anonymous reviewer for making this point.
On the economics of nonmonetary penalties, see Shavell (1985).
To reiterate his opinion of the lower classes, he wrote that this direct association is “of the utmost importance if one desires to arouse in crude and uneducated minds the idea of punishment with the seductive image of a certain advantageous crime” (XIX: 36–37).
For recent research on the subjective nature of punishment and its importance, see Kolber (2009).
For a critique of this argument, see White (2004).
On the differences between revenge and retributivism, see Zaibert (2006).
On VI: 14–15, Beccaria outlines a practical method for ranking crimes and punishments separately and then ensuring that more highly ranked punishments are applied to more highly crimes, a common method for assigning retributive penalties as well (see for instance Davis 1983).
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White, M.D. The neglected nuance of Beccaria’s theory of punishment. Eur J Law Econ 46, 315–329 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10657-016-9530-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10657-016-9530-7