Transaction Costs in Criminal Law: An Economic Analysis of Crime & Justice | Law & Economics скачать в хорошем качестве

Transaction Costs in Criminal Law: An Economic Analysis of Crime & Justice | Law & Economics

#LawAndEconomics #CriminalLaw #TransactionCosts This video provides a comprehensive lecture on transaction costs and their significant influence within criminal law. As a core concept in economics, transaction costs are defined as the time, effort, and other expenses involved in undertaking a specific activity. Professor Stevenson applies this analytical framework to various aspects of the criminal justice system, demonstrating its relevance from crime deterrence strategies to the day-to-day operations of law enforcement and legal professionals. The lecture explains how intentionally raising the transaction costs for criminals—through measures such as installing multiple door locks, erecting fences, or implementing background checks and waiting periods for weapons—can effectively reduce the incidence of crime, making it "not worth it" for some potential offenders or causing attempts to be abandoned. Conversely, the video also details the substantial transaction costs borne by the criminal justice system itself. These include the considerable overhead expenses for police, detectives, and the FBI involved in detecting, investigating, apprehending, and detaining criminals, as well as the salaries, pensions, and equipment costs for these personnel. Furthermore, the system incurs significant costs related to prosecutors, district attorneys, and U.S. attorneys who manage plea agreements and trials, along with incarceration costs and the expenses associated with legal appeals. The discussion further explores how transaction costs shape the incentives of legal professionals. For prosecutors, it is often less costly in terms of time and effort to charge for crimes that do not require proving specific intent (mens rea), such as drug or illegal gun possession, as proving external actions is easier than proving internal mental states. Similarly, focusing on sentencing factors (e.g., prior convictions, quantity of drugs/money) is generally less work and has lower transaction costs than proving the underlying crime's specific intent. Prosecutors also face strong incentives to avoid trials due to their intense transaction costs, which consume significant time, effort, and resources, preferring to secure plea bargains to manage caseloads and maintain favorable "win rates". For defense counsel, especially court-appointed attorneys, the existence of fee caps in many states creates an incentive to resolve cases quickly via a plea rather than prolonging them through a trial, as longer cases can reduce their effective hourly earnings. This l lecture offers a unique perspective on how economic principles profoundly impact criminal behavior, law enforcement, and the strategic decisions made within the legal process. Law & Economics Seminar playlist    • Law & Economics Seminar   #CrimeDeterrence #CriminalJusticeSystem