Is shoplifting good for the economy?

Question

My Professor posits that it is, and has 32 reasons. I am trying to refute them, but am stumped. HELP!!

Answer 1

What exactly does "good for the economy" mean? Shoplifting does create jobs (stores hire security personnel and buy video surveillance and theft protection equipment), but the cost of additional security either passes on to paying customers in the form of higher prices or flattens retailers' bottom line.

I think your professor is trying to trick you into forgetting about externalities. Think about it this way: every dollar that retailers spend on theft prevention is a dollar not spent somewhere else.

Answer 2

If you shoplift everything else goes up to cover the cost of the stolen items. Plus if you get caught, it makes the business in the store possibly decrease or increase for the wrong reason (such as more people trying to steal from that same store).

Answer 3

it is bad as shops have to raise prices to accomodate for their losses

there is an article i found which gives more detail to this point
http://voice.paly.net/view_story.php?id=1087

however there are more positives than negatives on the topic of shoplifting

http://securitysolutions.com/mag/security_numbers_staggering/

'Stores suffer as result of lost profits; thus employees lose their jobs as result of cutbacks in staff or layoffs brought about because of the lost profits. Consumers are then penalized by higher retail prices, and the general public pays through increased taxes resulting from lost sales tax revenue on the stolen merchandise.'

Answer 4

It's been forever since I took economy, but what about the losses a store experiences and thus has to raise prices for all other consumers to cover these losses? The same with insurance fraud?

Answer 5

i don't see why not companys get reinversed for it by writing it off so they get added value

that's all i got good luck with this sounds like a tough one@!

Answer 6

it it was good it would be legal