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on Law and Economics |
| By: | Castillo Cuello, María (Universidad de los Andes); Suescún Salazar, Cecilia (Universidad de los Andes); Weintraub, Michael (Universidad de los Andes); Marín-Llanes, Lucas (Northwestern University) |
| Abstract: | Does regulating cannabis markets reduce crime? We conduct a systematic review and metaanalysis of causal inference studies addressing this question. Applying strict inclusion criteria to an initial pool of 31 studies, we synthesize estimates from nine papers. We propose a formal framework linking cannabis regulations to crime through reductions in illicit market size, criminal rents, and violence associated with illegal contract enforcement, as well as through increased police resource reallocation and public health interventions. Our meta-analytic estimates show that cannabis regulations—especially for medical use—reduce overall crime, with effects concentrated in violent offenses. We also document heterogeneity by publication status, suggesting potential publication bias. These findings imply that reforms to cannabis regulations may reduce violence and weaken organized crime. |
| Keywords: | meta-analysis; cannabis; crime; drugs; security |
| JEL: | H41 H75 K14 K23 K42 |
| Date: | 2025–05–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000089:021369 |
| By: | Yang Liang; Joseph J. Sabia; Dhaval M. Dave |
| Abstract: | Leveraging county-level variation in exposure to industry-specific foreign-based robotics shocks, this study is the first to explore the relationship between U.S. robotics expansions and crime. Instrumental variables estimates show that a 10 percent increase in robotics exposure led to a 0.2 to 0.3 percent increase in property crime arrests. In contrast, we find little evidence of a relationship between robotics expansions and violent crime. Our estimates are consistent with robotics-induced declines in employment and earnings among low-skilled manufacturing workers. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that during the period over which robotics exposure induced adverse employment effects, such exposure generated approximately $322 million (2024$) in additional crime costs nationally. |
| JEL: | D24 J20 K42 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33603 |
| By: | Angela Zorro Medina; David Hackett; Devin Green; Robert Vargas |
| Abstract: | This study provides the first empirical evidence that private donations to police departments can influence officer behavior. Drawing on the psychology of reciprocity bias, we theorize that public donations create social debts that shape discretionary enforcement. Using quasi-experimental data from Chicago, we find that after 7-Eleven sponsored a police foundation gala, investigatory stops, particularly of Black pedestrians, increased around its stores. These findings reveal a racialized pattern of donor bias in policing and call into question the consequences of private donations to public law enforcement. |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2504.15140 |
| By: | Benjamin Feigenberg; Conrad Miller |
| Abstract: | We examine class disparities and discrimination in police searches and stops using data on traffic stops conducted by Texas Highway Patrol. Low-income motorists are more likely to be searched for contraband, less likely to be found with contraband when searched, and more likely to be stopped for infractions associated with pretext stops. We measure class-based discrimination in searches per potential stop, accounting for both the search and stop margins. Our research design leverages motorists stopped in multiple vehicles conveying different class signals. Motorists are more likely to be searched when stopped in a low-status vehicle, and evidence suggests that they are also more likely to be stopped when driving one. Marginal searches triggered by vehicle status are also less likely to yield contraband when the motorist is low-income. We argue that lower hassle costs associated with arrests of low-income motorists help explain trooper behavior. |
| JEL: | K42 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33629 |
| By: | Raymond Fisman; Jetson Leder-Luis; Catherine M. O'Donnell; Silvia Vannutelli |
| Abstract: | Revolving door laws restrict public officials from representing private interests before government after leaving office. While these laws mitigate potential conflicts of interest, they also may affect the pool of candidates for public positions by lowering the financial benefits of holding office. We study the consequences of revolving door laws for political selection in U.S. state legislatures, exploiting the staggered roll-out of laws across states over time. We find that fewer new candidates enter politics in treated states and that incumbent legislators are less likely to leave office, leading to an increase in uncontested elections. The decline in entry is particularly strong for independent and more moderate candidates, which may increase polarization. We provide a model of politician career incentives to interpret the results. |
| JEL: | D72 D73 K16 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33626 |
| By: | Santiago Montoya-Bland\'on; Andr\'es Ram\'irez-Hassan |
| Abstract: | The response of illicit drug consumers to large-scale policy changes, such as legalization, is heavily mediated by their demand behavior. Since individual drug use is driven by many unobservable factors, accounting for unobserved heterogeneity is crucial for modeling demand and designing targeted public policies. This paper introduces a finite Gaussian mixture of Exact Affine Stone Index (EASI) demand systems to estimate the joint demand for marijuana, cocaine, and basuco (cocaine residual or "crack") in Colombia, accounting for corner solutions and endogenous price variation. Our results highlight the importance of unobserved heterogeneity in identifying reliable price elasticities. The method reveals two regular consumer subpopulations: "safe" (recreational) and "addict" users, with the majority falling into the first group. For the "safe" group, whose estimates are precise and nationally representative, all three drugs exhibit unitary price elasticities, with cocaine being complementary to marijuana and basuco an inferior substitute to cocaine. Given the low production cost of marijuana in Colombia, legalization is likely to drive prices down significantly. Our counterfactual analysis suggests that a 50% price decrease would result in a \$363 USD gain in utility-equivalent expenditure per representative consumer, \$120 million USD in government tax revenue, and a \$127 million USD revenue loss for drug dealers. Legalization, therefore, has the potential to reduce the incentive for drug-related criminal activity, the current largest source of violent crime in Colombia. |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2503.20100 |
| By: | Leonardo Madio; Matthew Mitchell; Martin Quinn; Carlo Reggiani |
| Abstract: | We study the competitive impact of content moderation by a dominant online platform. We exploit an exogenous shock that led the largest adult content platform to remove all non-verified content, eliminating 80% of its video library. Using a difference-in-differences approach and leveraging on daily website-country level traffic data, we find that this policy resulted in a 41% drop in traffic within one month, suggesting strong user preferences for the removed content. However, much of the displaced traffic was absorbed by competing platforms, including both mainstream rivals and less regulated fringe websites. Over six months, fringe sites experienced a 55% increase in visits, far outpacing the 10% growth of mainstream competitors. Search engines played a critical role in this reallocation: fringe platforms saw a surge in traffic from search referrals and aggregators, as users actively sought alternative content sources. We document an intensification of competition in search: the leading platform became more aggressive towards copyright-infringing rivals, strategically using DMCA filings to remove competing content from search results. Our findings highlight how asymmetric exposure to content moderation shocks can reshape market competition, drive consumers toward less regulated spaces, and alter substitution patterns across platforms. |
| Keywords: | content moderation, platforms, adult websites, search. |
| JEL: | D83 K42 L82 O39 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11842 |
| By: | Roodman, David |
| Abstract: | Heyes and Saberian (2019) finds that U.S. immigration judges are less likely to grant asylum in cases heard on warmer days. Spamann (2022) corrects errors in that paper, enlarges the sample, proposes additional revisions, and strongly challenges the conclusion. In a rejoinder, Heyes and Saberian (2022) incorporates many of these comments, yet maintains that "results…are qualitatively un-changed." Experimenting with a new academic-literary form, I review the case as a judge might, to offer a take that is more independent and legible than the partisans can offer. I agree with Spamann (2022): the only viable explanation for the combined evidence is publication bias or other forms of result filtration. |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:i4rdps:227 |