Replication data for: Reducing Crime and Violence: Experimental Evidence from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Liberia

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Christopher Blattman; Julian C. Jamison; Margaret Sheridan

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
20150503_data			10/12/2019 03:51:AM
LICENSE.txt	text/plain	14.6 KB	10/11/2019 11:51:PM

Project Citation:

Blattman, Christopher, Jamison, Julian C., and Sheridan, Margaret. Replication data for: Reducing Crime and Violence: Experimental Evidence from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Liberia. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2017. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-10-12. https://doi.org/10.3886/E113056V1

Project Description

Summary: We show that a number of noncognitive skills and preferences, including patience and identity, are malleable in adults, and that investments in them reduce crime and violence. We recruited criminally engaged men and randomized one-half to eight weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy designed to foster self-regulation, patience, and a noncriminal identity and lifestyle. We also randomized $200 grants. Cash alone and therapy alone initially reduced crime and violence, but effects dissipated over time. When cash followed therapy, crime and violence decreased dramatically for at least a year. We hypothesize that cash reinforced therapy's impacts by prolonging learning-by doing, lifestyle changes, and self-investment.

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:
      D12 Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
      D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
      H23 Taxation and Subsidies: Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
      I32 Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
      K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
      O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
      O17 Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements

Related Publications

This study is un-published. See below for other available versions.

Published Versions

V2 [2025-12-21]

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