Scoring the Behavioral Economics of Crime: Reflections on Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence
Journal of Economic Literature · 2026 · Robert J. Sampson
中文摘要
在《不宽恕之地》一书中，延斯·路德维希有力地主张采用犯罪行为经济学，并在其与传统观念的较量中判定它以击倒方式获胜。他以枪支暴力为重点，提出了一种统一的解释，并借鉴了经济学之外的学科，尤其是社会学、犯罪学和心理学。尽管该书的目标读者主要是政策制定者和普通公众，学者也会从阅读路德维希这部发人深省的著作中获益。在本文中，我评估该书所提供的证据，并进一步阐述解决尚无定论的假说所需开展的研究。我重点讨论若干关键问题，包括自我控制理论与认知过程之间的联系、社区非正式社会控制、社区警务中的正当性、有害环境对认知的影响、行政数据的局限、携枪的年龄特异性路径，以及社会变迁的影响。秉承《不宽恕之地》所倡导的知识融通精神，我认为，进一步运用该书的框架探讨这些问题，将形成一项前景可期的研究议程。
Abstract
In Unforgiving Places Jens Ludwig makes a strong claim for the behavioral economics of crime, scoring it a knockout when pitted against conventional wisdom. Focusing on gun violence, he proposes a unifying explanation that draws on disciplines beyond economics, especially sociology, criminology, and psychology. Although the intended audience is mainly policymakers and the general public, scholars will benefit from reading Ludwig's thought-provoking book. In this essay, I evaluate the book's evidence and elaborate on the research needed to resolve unsettled hypotheses. I focus on several key issues, including linking self-control theory to cognitive processes, informal neighborhood social control, legitimacy in community policing, toxic environmental effects on cognition, the limits of administrative data, age-specific pathways of gun carrying, and the impact of social change. In the spirit of consilience that Unforgiving Places calls for, I argue that further engagement of the book's framework with these issues yields a promising research agenda. (JEL D11, D72, D90, H76, K14, K42, R23)