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on Law and Economics |
| By: | Behrer, Arnold Patrick; Bolotnyy, Valentin |
| Abstract: | Using administrative criminal records from Texas, this paper shows how high temperatures affect the decision making of police officers, prosecutors, and judges. It finds that police reduce the number of arrests made per reported crime on the hottest days and that arrests made on these days are more likely to be dismissed in court. For prosecutors, high temperature on the day they announce criminal charges does not appear to affect the nature and severity of the charges. However, judges dismiss fewer cases, issue longer prison sentences, and levy higher fines whenruling on hot days. The results suggest that the psychological and cognitive consequences ofexposure to high temperatures have meaningful consequences for criminal defendants as they interact with the criminal justice system. |
| Date: | 2024–05–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10776 |
| By: | Kirchmaier, Tom; Oparina, Ekaterina |
| Abstract: | This paper addresses the relationship between a police officer's workload and the likelihood of statement withdrawal of domestic abuse victims. We focus our analysis on high-risk cases reported to Greater Manchester Police from January 2014 to March 2019. Using this unique dataset, combined with institutional knowledge, we show that adding 10 more cases to a police officer's monthly workload is associated with an increase of the probability of statement withdrawal of 3 percentage points, or 17% of the average withdrawal rate in our sample. The increased workload is likely to be the outcome of a substantial reduction in the police budget, implying that this paper provides additional indirect evidence of the secondary costs of austerity policies. |
| Keywords: | workload; productivity; police; austerity |
| JEL: | K42 H39 H56 |
| Date: | 2024–03–19 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:126826 |
| By: | Biagi, Victoria; Cardazzi, Alexander; Porreca, Zachary |
| Abstract: | Violence is often viewed as an intrinsic feature of illicit markets, driven by competition, disputes, and predation. We argue that the connection between violence and markets is not exclusive to illicit markets and that in the absence of strong institutions these factors exist ubiquitously. Using an estimator of spatial concentration, we document the empirical relationship between violence and markets in the 14th century. We then employ a large language model to analyze the coroner's accounts of the era's homicides, finding that many of these incidents were driven by avoidable escalations of business-related disputes. Employing a novel difference-in-differences estimator for spatial concentration, we proceed to causally identify the impacts of the introduction of London's first professional police force in the 19th century on this concentration. We find that the police force's introduction led to a 54% reduction in the degree of concentration of violence around marketplaces. Our findings suggest that it is not the nature of the commodities being sold in illicit markets that drives violence, but is rather the absence of formal institutions of enforcement and dispute resolution. |
| Keywords: | marketplace violence, medieval violence, spatial concentration, local large language model |
| JEL: | K42 N93 R12 C21 K40 N90 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1569 |
| By: | Lehmann-Hasemeyer, Sibylle H.; Morell, Alexander |
| Abstract: | Using data on all patent cases in front of German courts between 2010 and 2015 we find that plaintiffs in patentinfringement cases mainly chose the venue where to sue by the speed with which courts dispose of their cases. We also find that quality - measured, both, as the fraction of cases challenged in the next instance and the ratio of successful appeals in the year before filing - has an impact on court choice by patent plaintiffs. We can further show that plaintiffs merely shop between three German courts, namely Duesseldorf, Munich and Mannheim. Moreover, we find that once one of these three courts introduces an additional panel of three judges, thereby working faster, the other two courts increase their working speed, too. This indicates that, indeed, courts actively compete for cases. However, we do not find evidence for courts reacting to a competitor's increase in speed by deciding in the plaintiffs favor more often or by deteriorating quality of decisions. We thank the ministries of justice of the 16 German Laender for the detailed data on patent cases. Moreover, we thank Stefan Bechtold, Fabian Gaessler, Dietmar Harhoff, Lea Tochtermann, Mike Schuster, Holger Spamann, the participants of the network meeting of the DFG network "Conflict Strategies in Innovation Markets" in Mannheim (Dec. 2023), the participants of the International Meeting of Law and Economics in Bruges (Apr. 2024), seminar participants at the ETH Zurich (Apr. 2024), participants of the CELS 2024 at Emory Law School, Atlanta (Nov. 2024), and the participants of the SAFE 2025 research retreat (Jan. 2025) for their valuable comments. |
| Keywords: | Organizational Behavior, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Patents and Innovation |
| JEL: | D23 K11 K41 O34 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:safewp:312400 |
| By: | Ulrika Ahrsjš (Stockholm School of Economics); Costas Meghir (Cowles Foundation, Yale University); MŒrten Palme (Stockholm University); Marieke Schnabel (University College London) |
| Abstract: | We study the intergenerational effect of education policy on crime. We use Swedish administrative data that links outcomes across generations with crime records, and we show that the comprehensive school reform, gradually implemented between 1949 and 1962, reduced conviction rates both for the generation directly affected by the reform and for their sons. The reduction in conviction rates occurred in many types of crime. The key mediators of this reduction in child generation are an increase in education and household income and a decrease in crime among their fathers. |
| Date: | 2025–02–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cwl:cwldpp:2356r1 |
| By: | Syring, Kenneth |
| Abstract: | Disinformation poses a significant threat to American law enforcement and, by extension, to democratic governance. Law enforcement officers, often exhibiting heightened levels of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO), are particularly vulnerable to disinformation campaigns that undermine public trust and fuel political extremism. This paper proposes a comprehensive policy framework designed to mitigate the spread of disinformation and extremist beliefs among law enforcement officers through a combination of civics education and service-learning programs. Drawing on behavioral science research, it demonstrates how such interventions can reduce RWA and SDO traits, thereby enhancing officers’ critical thinking, empathy, and commitment to democratic principles. The proposed “Repairing Broken Windows” initiative reframes law enforcement as a form of national service, focusing on civic engagement and democratic literacy to build resilience against disinformation and restore public trust. This paper emphasizes the urgent need to inoculate law enforcement against disinformation, not only to reduce susceptibility to extremist ideologies but also to protect democratic institutions from being undermined by radicalized security forces. By fostering critical engagement and reinforcing the rule of law, this proposal offers actionable solutions for policymakers to safeguard democratic integrity within law enforcement. May 2022 (Revised March 2023; October 2024) |
| Date: | 2024–05–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:baz27_v1 |
| By: | Comstock, Audrey L.; Heiss, Andrew (Georgia State University); Chaudhry, Suparna |
| Abstract: | Did states misuse international legal emergency provisions during the COVID-19 pandemic to justify human rights abuse or did they follow international human rights law? Many governments restricted citizens’ freedom of movement, association, and assembly during the crisis, raising questions about states’ commitments to international human rights law. Some states used derogations to communicate temporary suspension of international legal provisions in a proportional and non-discriminatory manner, while others did not. We explore the dynamics of democratic backsliding and derogation use during the pandemic. We find that backsliding states were more likely to issue human rights treaty derogations. These derogations had mitigating effects once issued. Backsliding states that issued derogations were more likely to communicate restrictions and were less likely to issue abusive and discriminatory policy during the pandemic. Derogations helped temper abuse in states not experiencing backsliding. However, derogations did not always protect against abuse and media transparency in backsliding states. These results lend support to the use of flexibility mechanisms in international law and find that most states did not use emergency derogations to heighten human rights violations. The study contributes to the understanding of how international legal measures may help mitigate elements of democratic backsliding during times of crisis. |
| Date: | 2024–07–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:g3z6n_v1 |
| By: | Farrell, Graham (University of Leeds); Lovelace, Robin; O'Hern, Steve |
| Abstract: | This study uses data from Operation Snap (OpSnap), the UK police’s national system to receive road users’ video evidence of road traffic offences. Data from one police force area for 39 months (January 2021 to March 2024) (N = 20, 364 records) is analysed. Half were submitted by vehicle drivers (49.8%), a third by cyclists (34.7%), 7.2% by pedestrians, 2.2% by horse riders, 0.2% by motorcyclists, and 5.8% were unknown. We estimate that, relative to road distance travelled, cyclists were 20 times more likely to submit video evidence than vehicle drivers. The most common offences overall were driving ‘without reasonable consideration to others’ or ‘without due care and attention’. Half (53.5%) of reported cases resulted in the recommended disposal of an educational course, % no further action 12.6% conditional offer, and 1.6% resulted in court appearance. A research agenda using OpSnap data is outlined that could emerge if national datasets are compiled and responsibly opened-up and made available for research and policy-making: data-driven research should identify hotspot locations and other correlates of dangerous and antisocial road use at regional, and local levels; research projects should investigate disposal-related decision-making, video quality, and the role of supporting evidence; offence concentration (recidivism, repeat submitters of evidence, spatial hotspots) and case progression including court cases should be explored with reference to new video evidence. We conclude that datasets derived from publicly-uploaded video submission portals have the potential to transform evidence-based policy and practice locally, nationally and internationally. |
| Date: | 2024–07–27 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:cgjmr_v1 |
| By: | Jan C. van Ours (Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam and Tinbergen Institute, The Netherlands; CEPR; Centre for Health Economics, Monash Business School) |
| Abstract: | Around 50 years ago, the Netherlands decriminalized cannabis for recreational use. This paper uses retrospective data on the ages at which individuals began and ceased cannabis use to reconstruct its prevalence in Amsterdam during the period surrounding the policy change. This approach enables a detailed analysis of the policy’s effects. The main conclusion is that the introduction of this policy did not lead to an increase in the prevalence of cannabis use. |
| Keywords: | cannabis use, cannabis policy, age of onset |
| JEL: | I12 I18 K42 |
| Date: | 2025–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mhe:chemon:2025-03 |
| By: | Behr, Daniela Monika; Perrin, Caroline Sabine Marie; Hyland, Marie Caitriona; Trumbic, Tea |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the role that a country’s political economy, civil society organizations, and women’s rights groups play in advancing legal gender equality. The paper draws on the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law time-series data, which assesses women’s legal rights across eight domains of their lives, five decades, and 190 economies. The results reveal that higher levels of democracy and a more active civil society are positively associated with advances in legal equality between men and women. The analysis also reveals that, beyond an active civil society more broadly, women’s rights groups specifically are a key ingredient for successfully advancing legal gender reforms. The paper shows that both democracy and civil society play a more prominent role in removing legal restrictions that are placed on women than they do in ensuring rights to enabling provisions, such as the right to maternity leave, and that women’s rights groups seem to be particularly important in this area. Moreover, an active civil society may be more effective in advancing reform in more democratic countries, suggesting that bottom-up and top-down channels are more impactful when operating in tandem. |
| Date: | 2024–06–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10788 |
| By: | Langfield, Cameron Thomas (University of Wollongong) |
| Abstract: | Exceptional events bring with them exceptional consequences. During the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most devastating exceptional events in recent memory, the lives and routines of millions of people around the world were significantly disrupted. Criminologists were quick to document the immediate and short-term effects of pandemic-related restrictions on recorded crime, with the meta-story being that most types of recorded crime declined beyond statistical expectations. However, in the aftermath of these discoveries, it has become clear that research focusing on young people and their offending has not garnered the same level of attention. To remedy this, the current paper uses officially recorded unit-record offence data from the state of New South Wales (NSW) to explore and document to what extent the COVID-19 pandemic has affected youth offending. With this data in hand, we estimate the prevalence and frequency of offending among this cohort of young people pre-and-post the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions. We find that throughout periods of lockdown restrictions in NSW, the prevalence and frequency of this cohorts offending declined significantly, and that most of these declines were clustered in property and violent offences. Interrupted time series analysis (ITSA) was conducted to confirm these findings, with statistical evidence suggesting the largest declines in prevalence and frequency occurred at the point of the first national lockdown in 2020 and the second state-wide lockdown in 2021. We end this paper by discussing why these findings are important and how they continue to shed light on the COVID-crime puzzle, specifically addressing the gap in research on youth offending during an exceptional event. |
| Date: | 2025–02–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:kd3b5_v1 |
| By: | Benito Arruñada |
| Abstract: | This article suggests that the partial but strong incentives that characterized privately valuable public services in the classical ‘liberal’ state might be more effective than the comprehensive but weak incentives introduced by the ‘internal markets’ created when reforming the welfare state. The article compares three organizational forms: (1) the bureaucratic expense center used to provide privately valuable services such as healthcare through the organizations created by the welfare state; (2) the internal markets introduced to reform them; and (3) the hybrid solutions that have been used by the liberal state since the 19th century to provide such privately valuable services. This comparison suggests that market forces may play a better role in organizing public services when they are limited to a few variables, which makes stronger incentives possible and, at the same time, reduces the need for extensive planning and supervisory staff. |
| Keywords: | Bureaucracy, competition, expense centers, Incentives, interbank markets, public services, user choice, user fees, welfare |
| JEL: | H11 H42 H51 H52 K23 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:1473 |