This study examines mental health outcomes among incarcerated adults using primary survey data in a developing country correctional system. Using validated mental health scales for depression, anxiety, and well-being, the study documents a high prevalence of psychological distress among...

We study how incarceration experience shapes preferences for criminal justice policies. In collaboration with a newly opened prison, we conducted a randomized field experiment that o!ered citizens the opportunity to experience up to two days of incarceration, closely replicating the real-life...

Recidivism is a persistent challenge for criminal justice systems worldwide, yet evidence from Latin America remains scarce. This study addresses that gap through three contributions. First, it reviews the individual, institutional, and contextual determinants of recidivism, with special...

We study how incarceration experience shapes preferences for criminal justice policies. In collaboration with a newly opened prison, we conducted a randomized field experiment that offered citizens the opportunity to experience up to two days of incarceration, closely replicating the real-life...

Using a sample of Australians who display high rates of early school-leaving, we compare the trajectories of respondents who left school at each incremental age between 14 and 17 with respondents who left at 18 years old or more, in terms of homelessness, incarceration, substance use and mental...

Using a sample of disadvantaged Australians, we compare trajectories of those who left school before 18 with those who left later, in terms of homelessness, incarceration, substance use and mental health issues. We estimate a staggered difference-in-difference to account for heterogenous...

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...

The criminal justice system primarily arrests and incarcerates people without high school diplomas. We estimate the causal effect of a high school diploma on criminal justice system contact for a set of people who previously exited high school but then attended The Excel Center (TEC), a network...

Does early release decrease or increase the probability that ex-convicts will return to prison? We exploit unique data from Israeli courts, where appearance before the judge throughout the day has an arbitrary component. We first show that judges more often deny parole requests of prisoners...

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...

Background: The objective was to analyze the budgets invested in prisons by the member states of the Council of Europe (CoE) and the relationships between the global cost, the cost incurred per single inmate, the number of inmates per 100,000 inhabitants (PPR), the gross domestic product (GDP)...

Peer interactions play a key role in the criminal sector due to its secrecy and lack of formal institutions. A significant part of criminal peer exposure happens in prison, directly influenced by policymakers. This paper provides a broader understanding of how peer effects shape criminal...

Inmates' informal code often ascribes low status to persons perceived as passive homosexuals. We use longitudinal data to investigate whether prison experience contributes to anti-gay beliefs. We find that prison experience prompts a higher level of anti-gay sentiments among males and their...

Inmates' informal code regulates their behavior and attitudes. We investigate whether prisons contribute to the spread of these norms to the general population using an exogenous shock of the Soviet amnesty of 1953, which released 1.2 million prisoners. We document the spread of prison norms in...

When decision-makers overemphasize salient features under limited attention, biased decisions can result in settings in which decisions should be unbiased. We exploit a sudden shock in the salience of individuals of Moroccan descent in the Netherlands to test the vulnerability of decisions of...

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...

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...

When decision-makers overemphasize salient features under limited attention, biased decisions can result in settings in which decisions should be unbiased. We exploit a sudden shock in the salience of individuals of Moroccan descent in the Netherlands to test the vulnerability of decisions of...

Work in prisons has taken on various meanings over time. In European contexts, it serves as a valuable tool for enhancing inmates' quality of life. Specifically, agricultural work is recognised for its benefits, such as physical and psychological rehabilitation, vocational training, job...

This paper explores the potential of entrepreneurship policy to help the re-integration of formerly incarcerated individuals into the labour market. Self-employment can offer a viable route into work for formerly incarcerated individuals where they have relevant entrepreneurial motivations,...

The support of loved ones is beneficial at any time and in any activity that an individual wants to pursue. In difficult moments in life, the importance of the support given by the loved ones increases. This is also the case at the time of separation from society by being sentenced to a prison...

This study examines the influence of perceived organizational support on middle manager perceptions by demonstrating that the organization values their well-being, causing them to contribute to organizational growth. This study also tries to explain how psychological capital mediates the impact...

We use linked employer-employee data to investigate a large sample of past and future prisoners in Hungary, 2003-2011. We first compare their jobs, focusing on attributes that can reduce the penalty the employer must pay for a mistaken hiring decision. Second, we study if employers insure...

Penology in the Jim Crow South centered on the chain gang. Gangs ostensibly served three purposes: their severity served as a deterrent; their putting convicts to work on roads and other public improvements reduced the taxpayers’ costs of infrastructure; and their discriminatory implementation...