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on Law and Economics |
| By: | Craig Sylvera |
| Abstract: | Local elections are often contested on the grounds of public safety, but do elected officials have any power to curb crime or poor police behavior? Black mayors have particular interest in the issue because Black communities are routinely victimized by high levels of crime and fragile police-community relations. Using data on elections of first-time Black mayors, I find that police forces add more Black officers, a finding that is especially true for mayors with executive authority. Officers arrest 48 fewer potential Black offenders per 10, 000 Black residents for crimes where they have the ability to exercise discretion, a finding commensurate with the overall reduction in crime. This effect is not visible for similar white arrests. Using changes in the levels of arrests and officers induced by pivotal Black elections, I then estimate the correlation of an additional officer on race-specific arrests. An additional Black officer is related to large reductions in discretionary Black arrests, perhaps suggesting increasing the presence and visibility of Black officers may offer a solution to the “over-policing, under-policing” problem Black communities face. |
| Keywords: | mayor; race; police; crime; local government |
| JEL: | J15 K42 H76 |
| Date: | 2023–11–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedcwq:97293&r=law |
| By: | Chien-Wen Peng; Yu-Hui Chen; Chunghsien Yang |
| Abstract: | Under the strict land use regulation, the illegal residential use properties face the risk of being fined and the intensity of law enforcement and the possibility of being legalized will affect their prices. This study examines the influences of property right restrictions and rent seeking behavior on housing price by using the transaction data of illegal residential properties in commercial and entertainment district, Dawan north section, Taipei City. The empirical results show that the price of illegal residential use properties is about 21% discount of legal residential use properties. When Taipei City Government strength its law enforcement, the price discount of illegal residential properties increases to 26%. The empirical results confirm that property right restrictions do have profound influences on property prices, and the price gap between illegal and legal use properties depends on intensity of law enforcement. Since land use regulation and its law enforcement will affect not only the quality of environment, but also the value of property rights, equality among land owners, and government authority. We suggest the governments have a more long-term and comprehensive land use planning and regulation, and a stricter enforcement to avoid speculation activities. |
| Keywords: | Housing Price; Land use regulation; Property Rights Restrictioin; Rent Seeking |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2023–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2023_51&r=law |
| By: | Fernando Saltiel (McGill University); Cody Tuttle (University of Texas) |
| Abstract: | We show that the quality of police hires varies over the business cycle. Officers hired when the unemployment rate is high have fewer complaints, disciplines, and are less likely to be fired than officers hired when the unemployment rate is low. Effects are larger for younger workers who have weaker outside options in recessions. We find that the size and quality of the applicant pool increases in high unemployment years–morepeople take entry exams and a larger fraction pass the exam. Our findings shed light on how outside options affect police hires and speak to policy questions about police recruitment. |
| Keywords: | Police hiring, police quality, public sector labor markets, outside options |
| JEL: | J24 J33 J45 K42 |
| Date: | 2023–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aoz:wpaper:288&r=law |
| By: | Yuri Barabash (Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University); Darijus Beinoravičius (Mykolas Romeris University); Juozas Valčiukas (Mykolas Romeris University) |
| Abstract: | The paper's premise is that the invisible Constitution serves as an instrument to protect democracy and consolidate the nation. The discussion turns around the fundamental aspects of democracy and sovereignty to reveal the subject. The question which is particularly considered is how the Parliament and the Constitutional Court participate in the expression of the principles of democracy in the contemporary world. The paper concludes that the Parliament, through the formal legislative procedures, becomes less capable of achieving a social compromise. As a result, the same representative feature of democracy becomes more unpopular in society and continues to be a prevailing object of criticism among scholarly community. In contrast, the Constitutional Court's role in protecting democracy through the systematic interpretation of a constitution undergoes a profound change in the democratic world. Constitutional Court, through the understanding of both visible and invisible meaning of the Constitution turns it into an expression of the sovereign will of the permanent nation. |
| Keywords: | invisible Constitution, Democracy, Parliament, Constitutional Court, Sovereign |
| Date: | 2022–09–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04242890&r=law |