|
on Law and Economics |
| By: | Kim, Jinhwan (Stanford U); Shi, Terrence Tianshuo (Harvard U); Verdi, Rodrigo S. (MIT) |
| Abstract: | We examine how the efficiency of the judicial system impacts corporate innovation. To do so, we exploit a pilot program introduced by the U.S. Congress in 2011, which allowed judges with expertise(as opposed to randomly selected judges) to preside over more patent cases to facilitate efficient ruling. We find firms headquartered in counties subject to the Patent Pilot Program increase patent-based innovation by 5.2% to 6.2%, relative to firms in counties not under the program. Our results are concentrated among firms with high legal costs and uncertainty: firms that engage in innovation with “fuzzy boundaries†, that have high litigation risk, and that are more resource-constrained. However, we also find non-random assignment has an adverse impact on firms more likely to be assigned to judges that are favorably-biased towards non-practicing entities (NPEs) or “patent trolls†, who engage in frequent, frivolous litigation. Taken together, our findings underscore the important role of judicial efficiency in helping firms better allocate their resources towards innovation investment, but also indicate that judicial efficiency programs can exacerbate the negative effects of judicial biases in certain contexts. |
| JEL: | J24 K11 K42 M41 O31 O38 O39 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:stabus:4161 |
| By: | Grönqvist, Hans (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)); Niknami, Susan (Stockholm University); Palme, Mårten (Department of Economics, Stockholm University); Priks, Mikael (Department of Economics, Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the causal effects of parental incarceration on children’s short- and long-run outcomes using administrative data from Sweden. Our empirical strategy exploits exogenous variation in parental incarceration from the random assignment of criminal defendants to judges with different incarceration tendencies. We find that the incarceration of a parent in childhood leads to a significant increase in teen criminal convictions, a decrease in high school graduation, and worse labor market outcomes in adulthood. The effects are concentrated among children from disadvantaged families, in particular families where the remaining non-convicted parent is disadvantaged. These results suggest that the incarceration of parents with young children may significantly increase the intergenerational persistence of poverty and criminal behavior in affluent countries with extensive social safety nets and progressive criminal justice systems. |
| Keywords: | Crime; Parental incarceration; Childrens outcomes; School graduation; Labor market |
| JEL: | K42 |
| Date: | 2024–11–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1509 |
| By: | Stephen Machin; Matteo Sandi; Steve Machin |
| Abstract: | Research studying connections between crime and education is a prominent aspect of the big increase of publication and research interest in the economics of crime field. This work demonstrates a crime reducing impact of education, which can be interpreted as causal through leveraging research designs (e.g., based on education policy changes) that ensure the direction of causality flows from education to crime. A significant body of research also explores in detail, and in various directions, the means by which education has a crime reducing impact. This includes evidence on incapacitation versus productivity raising aspects of education, and on the quality of schooling at different stages of education, ranging from early age interventions, through primary and secondary schooling and policy changes that alter school dropout age. From this evidence base, there are education policies that have been effective crime prevention tools in many settings around the world. |
| Keywords: | crime, education |
| JEL: | K42 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11450 |
| By: | Grenet, Julien (Paris School of Economics and CNRS); Grönqvist, Hans (Linnaeus University and); Niknami, Susan (Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | Electronic monitoring (EM) has emerged as a popular tool for curbing the growth of large prison populations. Evidence on the causal effects of EM on criminal recidivism is, however, limited and it is unclear how this alternative to incarceration affects the labor supply of offenders and the outcomes of their family members. We study the countrywide expansion of EM in Sweden in 1997 wherein offenders sentenced to up to three months in prison were granted the option to substitute incarceration with EM. Our difference-in-differences estimates, which compare the change in the prison inflow rate of treated offenders to that of non-treated offenders with slightly longer sentences, show that the reform significantly decreased the number of incarcerations. Our main finding is that EM not only lowers crimi nal recidivism but also increases labor supply. Additionally, EM improves the educational attainment and early-life earnings of the children whose parents were exposed to the reform. The primary mechanisms through which EM operates appear to involve the preservation of offenders’ ties to the labor market, by reducing the barriers to both finding a job and changing employers. Our calculations suggest that the social benefits stemming from EM are about seven times larger than the fiscal savings associated with reduced prison expenditures, implying that the welfare gains from EM could be much greater than previously acknowledged. |
| Keywords: | Electronic monitoring; Incarceration; Labor supply; Crime; Spillovers |
| JEL: | K42 |
| Date: | 2024–11–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1508 |
| By: | Blattman, Christopher (University of Chicago) |
| Abstract: | International drug trafficking dominates the conversation on organized crime, but equally common and serious are urban systems of organized crime—criminal groups focused not on exports or transshipment, but on dominating local markets, neighborhoods, and politics. When policymakers do pay attention to this problem, they consistently make the same mistake—believing there are best practices. But systems of organized crime are not all alike. There is no one blueprint or general solution, and so following the latest fad is unlikely to deliver the desired result. Instead of trying to copy the quasi-mythological success of a Giuliani or Bukele, policymakers need to understand what kind of organized crime problem they have, what capabilities their city possesses, and what tools are appropriate to the circumstances. This paper looks in-depth at how organized crime is organized in three cities: Chicago, Medellín, and San Salvador. It also considers New York, Bogotá, and Port-au-Prince. I argue that the primary driver of their organization and incentives is their source of criminal revenues. A second major driver of behavior is the degree of criminal political organization, which broadly-speaking takes three forms: atomized individuals, fragmented groups, and competing confederations. These forms are not just the product of their revenues, but are also the result of decades of competition with the state and one another. What policy tools will work hinges on this diagnosis. I look at the evidence for a range of standard policies—from crackdowns to street outreach—and explain why we can expect them to have wildly different impacts depending on the context. |
| Date: | 2024–11–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:ghcpj |
| By: | Klaus M. Miller; Karlo Lukic; Bernd Skiera |
| Abstract: | This study explores the impact of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), introduced on May 25th, 2018, on online trackers, vital elements in the online advertising ecosystem. Using a difference-in-differences approach with a balanced panel of 294 publishers, we compare publishers subject to the GDPR with those unaffected (the control group). Drawing on data from WhoTracks.me, which spans 32 months from May 2017 to December 2019, we analyze how the number of trackers used by publishers changed before and after the GDPR. The findings reveal that although online tracking increased for both groups, the rise was less significant for EU-based publishers subject to the GDPR. Specifically, the GDPR reduced about four trackers per publisher, equating to a 14.79% decrease compared to the control group. The GDPR was particularly effective in curbing privacy invasive trackers that collect and share personal data, thereby strengthening user privacy. However, it had a limited impact on advertising trackers and only slightly reduced the presence of analytics trackers. |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2411.06862 |