Publications [#47391] of Philip J. Cook

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Journal Articles

  1. PJ Cook. "The Clearance Rate as a Measure of Criminal Justice System Effectiveness." Journal of Public Economics 11 (1979): 135-142. (and in Egon Bittner and Sheldon L. Messinger, eds. Criminology Review Yearbook, Volume 2, Sage Publications, 1980)
    (last updated on 2006/11/17)

    Abstract:
    The validity of the clearance rate as a measure of either criminal justice system (CIS) effectiveness or of the probability of punishment for crime can be questioned on the grounds that the relationship between CIS effectiveness and observed clearance rates is mediated by the choice behavior of criminals. If the clearance rate is endogenous in that sense, then recent econometric results concerning the deterrence effect of punishment are fundamentally flawed. A model of criminal adaptation to changes in CIS effectiveness illustrates the basic problem.

Philip J. Cook