Is theft rational

Answer 1

To model theft correctly, you would need to take into account the probability and effect of being caught. If we're talking about serious crime, then you might get 4 times the amount of time you spent stealing in jail. If you consider your chances of getting caught to be 50%, then this can be modelled as 2 times the amount.

So for theft to be profitable, you would need to earn three times the amount you would have earned from working. A minimum wage employee will make $14,000 anually, so you would need to steal $42,000 in a year.

That's highly unlikely to happen, so no, theft is not rational. Not in the slightest, if your interest is income.