Public Enforcement
Intermediate
Rational Crime
A model of unlawful behavior in which potential offenders compare expected benefits with expected legal and nonlegal costs.
Why It Matters
The model does not claim all offenders calculate perfectly; it provides a disciplined way to analyze detection, punishment, prevention, and substitution effects.
Selected Literature
A short list of directly relevant archive entries.
1968
Intermediate
2000
Intermediate
The Economic Theory of Public Enforcement of Law
A. Mitchell Polinsky and Steven Shavell
Journal of Economic Literature
2004
Advanced
2016
Advanced
Related Cases
1980
Securities Regulation
Aaron v. SEC
446 U.S. 680 (1980)
Which antifraud provisions require the SEC to prove scienter when it seeks an injunction.
1994
Securities Regulation
Central Bank of Denver v. First Interstate Bank of Denver
511 U.S. 164 (1994)
Private aiding-and-abetting liability under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act.
2013
Securities Regulation
Gabelli v. SEC
568 U.S. 442 (2013)
When the five-year limitations period begins for an SEC action seeking civil penalties for alleged fraud.
2019
Securities Regulation
Lorenzo v. SEC
587 U.S. 71 (2019)
Primary scheme liability for knowingly disseminating false statements authored by another person.