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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
A Labor Theoretic Analysis Of The Criminal Choice, John Heineke, M. K. Block
A Labor Theoretic Analysis Of The Criminal Choice, John Heineke, M. K. Block
Economics
Although many criminal choice problems may be viewed within an expanded labor choice framework, care must be exercised if these problems are to be interpreted in terms of strictly monetary costs and benefits. We show below that by not fully specifying their choice problems, and therefore the transformation between what is inherently a multiattribute decision problem and the wealth-only problem, Becker, Ehrlich, and Sjoquist are led to conclusions which are valid only in very special cases. In general, we show that plausible preference restrictions are not sufficient to generate unambiguous supply results, a result that should come as no surprise …
The Models Of Economic Choice Theory: A Paradigm For Non-Economists, John Heineke
The Models Of Economic Choice Theory: A Paradigm For Non-Economists, John Heineke
Economics
The ultimate goal of social science is to explain individual and group behavior within given institutional constraints. In practice this means developing models which effectively describe and predict human behavior. Recent experience has shown a particular approach to modeling individual behavior to be especially useful. The approach in question has been developed by economists and consists of using the analytical structure of utility theory to focus attention on the determinants of individual choice and then analyzing the responsiveness of individual choices to changes in these determinants. The success of model building in this format is evidenced by the fact that …
The Supply Of Legal And Illegal Activity: A Choice Theoretic Analysis, John Heineke, M. K. Block
The Supply Of Legal And Illegal Activity: A Choice Theoretic Analysis, John Heineke, M. K. Block
Economics
We will show below that failure to fully specify the choice problem and therefore the transformation between what is inherently a multi-attribute decision problem and the wealth only problem has led Becker, Ehrlich, and Sjoquist to conclusions which are valid only in very special cases. In general, we show that plausible preference restrictions are not sufficient to generate unambiguous supply results, a result that should come as no surprise since it is the same situation that confronts the investigator in most household allocation problems. Therefore, policy prescriptions in this area, as in the tax incentive area do not follow from …