American Economic Journal:
Microeconomics
ISSN 1945-7669 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7685 (Online)
Credibility of Crime Allegations
American Economic Journal: Microeconomics
vol. 12,
no. 1, February 2020
(pp. 220–59)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
The lack of hard evidence in allegations about sexual misconduct makes it difficult to separate true allegations from false ones. We provide a model in which victims and potential libelers face the same costs and benefits from making an allegation, but the tendency for perpetrators of sexual misconduct to engage in repeat offenses allows semiseparation to occur, which lends credibility to such allegations. Our model also explains why reports about sexual misconduct are often delayed, and why the public rationally assigns less credibility to these delayed reports.Citation
Lee, Frances Xu, and Wing Suen. 2020. "Credibility of Crime Allegations." American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 12 (1): 220–59. DOI: 10.1257/mic.20180231Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D82 Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- K14 Criminal Law
- K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
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