Economic and criminological analysis of social costs and benefits of crime

In the history of criminal law developments and since the formation of modern law, many criminological theories have been conceptualized to explain crime. However, the classical theory of criminal law analyzes the commission of crime in the context of individual variables, with an emphasis on cost-benefit approaches and rational choice. According to this theory, criminals are rational and economic-oriented actors who commit a crime by considering the benefits and costs of the crime in a situation where the benefits of the crime outweigh their costs. The growth of interdisciplinary approaches and the focus of economists on the problem of crime in the light of attention to micro-theories have differentiated the traditional reading from classical theory.

The present study is qualitative and according to the nature of the subject, in terms of practical purpose and in terms of collecting information by documentary method and by studying valid laws and sources and the information obtained is descriptive- analytical.

Today, economic analysis of crime in the light of interdisciplinary approaches is a mixture of criminology, economics and criminal law. The findings of this study show that criminological theories of rational choice, daily activity, situational prevention and white-collar delinquency are the main sources of social costs and benefits of crime.

In general, the application of economic theories and criminological analysis of rational choice theory proved that the theory in question is not comprehensive. In other words, blue-collar criminals commit crimes based on the personality of the offender, and go beyond the scope of this theory. Also, the social costs of committing a crime will be the rejection of the offender and the criminal stigma in society, and the benefits of the crime for criminals will include material (financial) and psychological benefits (suppression of hatred, anger and revenge; suppression of lust and pleasure).