NCJ Number
89243
Date Published
1982
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses the contribution economics can make to criminal justice education and recommends that the study of economics be required in a criminal justice degree program.
Abstract
Economists assume that humans are rational, that they are free to choose among alternative behaviors, and that choices are governed by a desire to maximize well being. Criminologists, on the other hand, tend to view human behavior as the result of forces outside the control of the individual. Economists who have applied their discipline to criminology generally view persons as freely and consciously deciding whether or not to commit an offense, with potential victims choosing with reference to victimization avoidance, with entrepreneurs providing illicit merchandise and services while other entrepreneurs provide protection services and devices. Although the economist and the traditional criminologist view the world from different perspectives, they have a common predisposition to explain human behavior as a response to environmental stimuli. Traditional criminologists and economists agree that the personality makeup and the social milieu are both important, but the former places more emphasis on personality and the latter on environment in identifying the precipitating causes of criminality. This makes economics and criminology complementary in their analysis of human behavior. Methodologically, economics is distinguished from traditional criminology by its greater emphasis on formal, logical deduction. Econometrics has become a powerful instrument for empirically estimating and testing theoretical propositions. For all of the above reasons, a criminal justice curriculum should require the study of economics to provide the student with a comprehensive battery of tools for interpreting and analyzing human behavior. A survey of recent criminological research that uses the economist's paradigm is provided. About 60 references are listed.