What works when: Rational-choice theory and offender rehabilitation

The currently fashionable statement that “nothing works” overstates the case against rehabilitation. Rehabilitation efforts may be effective if addressed to specific offender populations delineated on the basis of causal theory. Causal theory can specify the mechanisms and conditions under which treatment can work. The utility of rational-choice theory in improving the effectiveness of rehabilitation efforts is discussed. Rational-choice theory describes an “economically motivated offender” to whom income-enhancing treatment, such as skills training, can be most effectively applied. The mechanism by which income-enhancing treatment works is through improving the offender's taste for income or his/her taste for work.