Code for: The Impact of Criminal Financial Sanctions: A Multi-State Analysis of Survey and Administrative Data

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Keith Finlay, U.S. Census Bureau; Matthew Gross, New York Mets; Carl Lieberman, U.S. Census Bureau; Elizabeth Luh, University of Michigan; Michael Mueller-Smith, University of Michigan

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
clean_NC.do text/plain 119 bytes 01/30/2024 02:43:PM
sde_make_fines.do text/plain 5.9 KB 01/30/2024 02:43:PM

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary We estimate the impact of financial sanctions in the U.S. criminal justice system leveraging nine natural experiments in a regression discontinuity design framework across a diverse range of enforcement levels ($17–$6,000) and institutional environments. We leverage survey and administrative data to consider a variety of short and long-term outcomes including employment, recidivism, household expenditures, and other self-reported measures of well-being. We find robust evidence of precise null effects, including ruling out long-run impacts larger than -$391–$142 in annual earnings and -0.001–0.01 in annual convictions, with no corresponding payment increases despite salient and heterogeneous enforcement mechanisms.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms criminal justice policy; fines; deterrence; labor market outcomes
JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      H72 State and Local Budget and Expenditures
      J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
      K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) program source code

Methodology

Unit(s) of Observation:  View help for Unit(s) of Observation individual

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Published Versions

V1 [2024-10-23]

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