TY  - JOUR
AU  - Tella,Rafael Di
AU  - Dubra,Juan
TI  - Free to Punish? The American Dream and the Harsh Treatment of Criminals
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 17309
PY  - 2011
Y2  - August 2011
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w17309
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w17309.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Rafael Di Tella
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field Rd
Boston, MA 02163
Tel: 617/495-6000
E-Mail: rditella@hbs.edu

Juan Dubra
Universidad de Montevideo
Montevideo, Uruguay
E-Mail: dubraj@um.edu.uy
AB  - We describe the evolution of selective aspects of punishment in the US over the period 1980-2004. We note that imprisonment increased around 1980, a period that coincides with the “Reagan revolution” in economic matters. We build an economic model where beliefs about economic opportunities and beliefs about punishment are correlated. We present three pieces of evidence (across countries, within the US and an experimental exercise) that are consistent with the model.
ER  -