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on Law and Economics |
| By: | Erkmen G. Aslim; Wei Fu; Caitlin K. Myers; Erdal Tekin; Bingjin Xue |
| Abstract: | We study how abortion access affects economic hardship and crime. Using a database of abortion provider locations and operations in Texas from 2009–2019, we exploit variation in travel distance to the nearest facility created by clinic closures following the enforcement of Texas HB-2 in 2013. We confirm previous evidence that increased distance to the nearest abortion facility reduces abortions and increases births. We provide novel evidence that reduced access to abortion also leads to significant economic hardship, reflected in lower labor force participation, rising debt, widening income inequality, and heightened housing insecurity. This financial strain translates into higher rates of financially motivated crime, such as theft and burglary, with no significant effect on violent crime. These effects extend beyond directly affected individuals, reflecting intrahousehold spillovers. These findings suggest far-reaching consequences of restricted access to reproductive healthcare. |
| JEL: | I12 I18 J13 K42 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34245 |
| By: | Jansson, Joakim (Department of Economics and Statistics, Linnaeus University); Petterson-Lidbom, Per (Department of Economics, Stockholm University); Priks, Mikael (Department of Economics, Stockholm University); Tyrefors, Björn (Department of Economics, Gothenburg University) |
| Abstract: | We study the effect of prison sentences on recidivism using a unique feature of sentencing for drunk driving in the Swedish court system. Below the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 1.0‰, individuals are never sentenced to prison and above 1.0‰, the average number of days sentenced to prison is essentially linearly increasing with the BAC level. We find that being sentenced to prison for one month reduces reoffending in the next five years by approximately 80 percent. |
| Keywords: | Sentence length; Recidivism; DUI |
| JEL: | C26 K42 R41 |
| Date: | 2025–09–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1536 |
| By: | Petach, Luke |
| Abstract: | Prior to the widespread adoption of barbed wire in the late 19th century, the absence of cheap fencing materials in the western United States led to violent conflict in the presence of competing claims over land-use. Using data from the full count U.S. Censuses of Mortality for the years 1850 to 1880, I demonstrate that an increase in the cost of property rights enforcement- captured by an increase in fencing costs per-acre-results in an increase in violent mortality. The effect of fence prices on violent mortality is exacerbated in counties with a greater degree of agricultural land-use polarization. The main findings are supported by an instrumental variables specification using the county woodland area share-a measure of the local scarcity of natural fencing materials, and a placebo specification demonstrating that fence prices have no effect on infectious disease mortality. |
| Keywords: | Property Rights, the West, Barbed Wire, Violent Conflict |
| JEL: | N41 D23 K42 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1672 |
| By: | Djankov, Simeon; Melcarne, Alessandro; Ramello, Giovanni B.; Spruk, Rok |
| Abstract: | We investigate how timeliness in enforcing legal contracts affects economic growth across countries. We focus on judicial timeliness as a proxy for courts’ performance in a large panel of 169 countries over the 2004–2019 period. We show that, by raising uncertainty and promoting opportunistic behaviors in business transactions, slower courts hinder economic development. The relationship is robust to diverse model specifications and appears stronger for business environments more heavily relying on judiciaries such as economies undergoing rapid growth, countries characterized by low human capital and civil law jurisdictions. |
| Keywords: | economic growth; institutions; judicial timeliness |
| JEL: | K41 H40 |
| Date: | 2025–10–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:129551 |
| By: | Anne M. Burton; Brandyn F. Churchill |
| Abstract: | While policymakers routinely limit the sale of goods thought to be of risk to public health, relatively less is known about whether and how these policies affect firm performance. Using 2000-2018 National Establishment Time-Series data and a difference-in-differences strategy, we show that state “pill mill” laws intended to reduce the overprescribing of opioids reduced retail pharmacy sales and employment. These reductions were most pronounced in highly competitive areas and for standalone pharmacies – two characteristics associated with pharmacy drug diversion. Meanwhile, pharmacies located across the border in states without a pill mill law experienced increases in sales and employment. Next, we show that state pill mill laws were associated with an increase in standalone pharmacy closures, though the total number of pharmacies was unchanged. Our results are consistent with these laws adversely affecting pharmacies filling inappropriate opioid prescriptions without meaningfully altering patient access to retail pharmacies. |
| JEL: | I18 K23 M20 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34281 |
| By: | Klaus Gründler; Niklas Potrafke; Ramona Schmid; Jan-Egbert Sturm |
| Abstract: | Legal rights continue to differ between women and men, particularly in developing countries. In this paper, we examine whether economic integration can improve gender equality by law. We design a novel instrumental variable strategy based on regional waves of globalization, which serve as strong exogenous predictors of national globalization trends. Our main estimate suggests that an increase of one-third in the globalization index, equivalent to a permanent transition from Indonesia to the United States, is associated with a 12.1% increase in gender equality, measured by the extent to which men and women are treated equally by law. We also find that this effect is almost entirely driven by de facto globalization. Linking globalization to more than 300, 000 individuals from about 100 countries, we provide evidence for a microfoundation of the macroeconomic effects. |
| Keywords: | gender equality, globalization, economic integration, culture |
| JEL: | F68 F61 O11 O57 K38 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12138 |