Leave the Door Open? Prison Conditions and Recidivism

A-Tier
Journal: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
Year: 2022
Volume: 14
Issue: 4
Pages: 200-233

Authors (2)

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We estimate the effect on recidivism of replacing time served in a common closed-cell prison with time served in an open-cell one. We deal with the endogenous assignment of inmates to different prison regimes using variation that is driven by nearby prisons' overcrowding. Switching regimes for a year reduces recidivism by around 6 percentage points. The effects are largest for inmates with low levels of education and are weak for violent and hardened criminals.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aejapp:v:14:y:2022:i:4:p:200-233
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25