犯罪刑罰增加之研究-年齡與防範誤觸法律之成本

Essays on Escalating Penalties - Age and the Cost of Avoiding Accidentally Committing illicit Act

張健贇(Chien-Yun Chang)

指導教授 ： 賴法才

國立暨南國際大學/管理學院/經濟學系/碩士(2007年)

https://doi.org/10.6837/NCNU.2007.00057

摘要

論文摘要
本文分別以獨立的兩章分析刑罰的污名效果、年齡及防範誤觸法律的成本對個人犯罪決策的影響並探討處罰累犯是否必須較初犯來得嚴苛。文中的第三章以污名效果及年齡為分析的重心。實證研究顯示犯罪率在超過某個年齡層後會急遽下降，此反映個人犯罪利得可能因年齡增長而下降。刑罰的污名效果會降低有前科者犯罪利得隨著年齡增加而下降的可能性。減輕對初犯的刑罰會降低其嚇阻力，但卻可弱化污名效果以降低有前科者重複犯罪的可能性；在刑罰有上限的前提下，若後者的效應強於前者之效應，處罰累犯必須較初犯來得嚴苛。文中第四章的分析著重於個人防範誤觸法律的成本。無意犯罪的個人可能意外觸法；個人會付出防範成本以避免誤觸法律，且刑罰越重為此付出的成本就越多。由於意外觸法人口小於守法的人口，在邊際的情況下增加累犯及降低初犯的刑罰無前科之初犯的人口的變化多於有前科的人口的變化及沒有前科不蓄意犯罪的人口的變化多於有前科不蓄意犯罪的人口的變化。在不減損刑罰嚇阻力下處罰累犯較重於初犯可以降低社會的防範成本，由此我們證明加重處罰累犯優於其他的刑罰制度。

關鍵字

年齡 ； 污名效果 ； 防範誤觸法律之成本

並列摘要

Abstract
The article independently develops two chapters to analyze how age, stigma effect and the cost of avoiding accidentally committing illicit act affect personal decision of committing the act, and justify that repeat offenders should be punished more severely. Age and stigma effect are the analytical focus of chapter III. Empirical studies have showed that crime rate will decline sharply beyond certain age; it implies the personal illicit gain will decline when aging. Stigma effect may dampen the aging effect on the personal propensity for committing illicit act. Lowering the severity of penalty on the first time offenders from the punishment ceiling reduces its deterrence, but relieves stigma effect on the convicted. If the latter were stronger than the former, punishing repeated offenders more severely can be justified. Chapter Ⅳ looks at whether the cost of avoiding accidentally committing illicit act can function as a corner stone of establishing escalating penalties. An individual, who doesn’t intend to commit illicit act, pays a cost to avoid committing the act accidentally, and still has a chance making the mistake. The severer have the penalties been set, the more he expends in avoiding accidentally committing illicit act. Moreover, people are more likely to avoid committing the act accidentally than not to. On the margin, a small increases in the severity of penalty on the repeat offenders and decreases in the one on the first-time offenders result in: The population change of people without record is larger than the one of people with record, or the population change of people, who are without record and accidentally commit the act, is larger than the one of people, who are with record and accidentally commit the act. Punishing repeated offenders more severely can lower the social cost of avoiding committing crime accidentally without reducing deterrence. This justifies escalating penalties.

並列關鍵字

age ； stigma effect ； the cost of avoiding accidentally committing illict act

參考文獻

參考文獻

中文部分

中華民國刑法（民國96 年01月24日修正）

英文部分

Alwin F. and A. Kronsnick (1991) “Aging, Cohorts, and the Stability of Sociopolitical Orientations over the Life Span,” American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 97, No.1 (July), pp. 169-195.