Economic-behavioral Analysis of Delinquent Acts Based on the Report of Juvenile Offenders in Confinement

From a behavioral-economic approach of delinquent behavior, this research aimed to identify potential consequences that could alter the cost of crime from the offender’s perspective. A questionnaire prepared to assess the level of informational and utilitarian reinforcement and punishment of these consequences was answered by 118 juvenile offenders in confinement. The reported level of informational reinforcement did not predict the level of multiplicity of offenses committed. The reported levels of utilitarian reinforcement, informational punishment, and utilitarian punishment predicted this level of multiplicity. Only the level of utilitarian punishment decreased the likelihood of an offender having been involved in more types of criminal acts. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Consumers’ Switching Preference from Conventional Food to Genetically Modified Food

Today, the demand for quality food is increasing and genetically modified food has become part of the Asian diet. Based on the potential of GM food products and Malaysia’s plan to expand its biotechnology industry, the market for GMO will surge if Malaysian consumers are well-informed on the advantages of GM food products. Therefore, this study proposed nine hypothesis to understand Malaysia consumers’ preference for switch from conventional food to genetically modified food. The result indicates that utilitarian, aversive and informational reinforcement will increase consumers’ preference towards genetic modified food if they are aware that genetically modified food brings more advantages than disadvantages to human being. In addition, result shows that consumer who switch will have higher intention to recommend GMO food to others and willing to pay more for GMO food.