We argue that a rational choice framework can be used to explain declines in offending from
adolescence to young adulthood in two ways. First, subjective expectations of offending can …

This study examines the deterrent effect of formal sanctions on criminal behavior. While most
research on deterrence assumes a rational-choice model of criminal decision-making, few …

Empirical tests of the deterrence doctrine have suffered from two deficiencies:(1) they have
rarely been conducted within the context of a more general theory of social control, and (2) …

Latent preferences feature prominently in rational choice and symbolic interaction theories
but are difficult to capture empirically. To address this limitation, we introduce a discrete …

In prior tests of Beckerian rational choice theory, the notion that individuals are responsive to
the (dis) incentives associated with crime has been supported. Much of this research has …

In explaining crime, some criminological theories emphasize time-stable individual
differences in propensity to offend while others emphasize more proximate and situational …

Objectives Few studies have evaluated Nagin and Pogarsky's (2004) proposed distinction
between impulsivity and discounting. This study evaluates and expands upon their …

In the last few decades, rational choice theory has emerged as a bedrock theory in the fields
of economics, sociology, psychology, and political science. Although rational choice theory …

This paper builds on work by Nagin and Paternoster in which they contend that two recent
developments in criminological theory, self-control and rational choice, have been explored …

Deterrence theory has been a centerpiece of theoretical and empirical research in
criminology. Largely due to the early work of Beccaria however, much of this research has …