?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.relation=https%3A%2F%2Fmpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de%2F500%2F&rft.title=Crime+and+Punishment+in+the+%22American+Dream%22&rft.creator=Di+Tella%2C+Rafael&rft.creator=Dubra%2C+Juan&rft.subject=K42+-+Illegal+Behavior+and+the+Enforcement+of+Law&rft.subject=K14+-+Criminal+Law&rft.subject=E62+-+Fiscal+Policy&rft.subject=P16+-+Political+Economy&rft.description=We+observe+that+countries+where+belief+in+the+%22American+dream%22+(i.e.%2C+effort+pays)+prevails+also+set+harsher+punishment+for+criminals.+We+know+from+previous+work+that+beliefs+are+also+correlated+with+several+features+of+the+economic+system+(taxation%2C+social+insurance%2C+etc).+Our+objective+is+to+study+the+joint+determination+of+these+three+features+(beliefs%2C+punitiveness+and+economic+system)+in+a+way+that+replicates+the+observed+empirical+patterns.+We+present+a+model+where+beliefs+determine+the+types+of+contracts+that+firms+offer+and+whether+workers+exert+effort.+Some+workers+become+criminals%2C+depending+on+their+luck+in+the+labor+market%2C+the+expected+punishment%2C+and+an+individual+shock+that+we+call+%22meanness%22.+It+is+this+meanness+level+that+a+penal+system+based+on+%22retribution%22+tries+to+detect+when+deciding+the+severity+of+the+punishment.+We+find+that+when+initial+beliefs+differ%2C+two+equilibria+can+emerge+out+of+identical+fundamentals.+In+the+%22American%22+(as+opposed+to+the+%22French%22)+equilibrium%2C+belief+in+the+%22American+dream%22+is+commonplace%2C+workers+exert+effort%2C+there+are+high+powered+contracts+(and+income+is+unequally+distributed)+and+punishments+are+harsh.+Economists+who+believe+that+deterrence+(rather+than+retribution)+shapes+punishment+can+interpret+the+meanness+parameter+as+pessimism+about+future+economic+opportunities+and+verify+that+two+similar+equilibria+emerge.&rft.date=2006-10&rft.type=MPRA+Paper&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.language=en&rft.identifier=https%3A%2F%2Fmpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de%2F500%2F1%2FMPRA_paper_500.pdf&rft.identifier=++Di+Tella%2C+Rafael+and+Dubra%2C+Juan++(2006)%3A+Crime+and+Punishment+in+the+%22American+Dream%22.++++&rft.language=en