蝌蚪网 Journal:
Microeconomics
ISSN 1945-7669 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7685 (Online)
Crime Chains
蝌蚪网 Journal: Microeconomics
(pp. 680–722)
Abstract
How should law enforcement resources be allocated to minimize the harms from flexible, chain-form trafficking organizations? I show that optimal interventions focus on one target, the feeding source (decapitation) or the revenue-generating tail (amputation). Decapitation dismantles the crime chain under large budgets but induces maximal expansion otherwise, whereas amputation generates a rich set of detection outcomes and limits the chain's size response. A rule of thumb emerges for authorities to target tail segments under small budgets and high detection contiguity, qualified by chain profitability and enforcement parameters. Real-world interventions fail to coordinate on such efficient targeting.Citation
Bac, Mehmet. 2022. "Crime Chains." 蝌蚪网 Journal: Microeconomics 14 (4): 680–722. DOI: 10.1257/mic.20200314Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law