Burglary,Traffic Accidents,and Incentives Treating something as a tort reduces the victim's incentive to avoid it So where the act creates a net cost,make it a crime instead For instance traffic accidents Where something is a transfer If the victim is fully compensated,no need for an incentive for him to prevent it It will only happen when the gain to the offender is greater than the cost So burglary should be a tort The point being that we are optimizing on many margins And picking one lets you argue for a conclusion,ignoring the others Which means that whatever the rule,you may be able to "prove"it is efficient Burglary, Traffic Accidents, and Incentives • Treating something as a tort reduces the victim’s incentive to avoid it • So where the act creates a net cost, make it a crime instead • For instance traffic accidents • Where something is a transfer • If the victim is fully compensated, no need for an incentive for him to prevent it • It will only happen when the gain to the offender is greater than the cost • So burglary should be a tort • The point being that we are optimizing on many margins • And picking one lets you argue for a conclusion, ignoring the others • Which means that whatever the rule, you may be able to “prove” it is efficient