Probable Causation

Jeremy West talks about racial bias in police investigations. "Racial Bias in Police Investigations" by Jeremy West. OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE: "Racial Bias in Motor Vehicle Searches: Theory and Evidence" by John Knowles, Nicola Persico and Petra Todd. "An Alternative Test of Racial Prejudice in Motor Vehicle Searches: Theory and Evidence" by Shamena Anwar and Hanming Fang. "A New...

Maya Rossin-Slater talks about how violent assault during pregnancy affects birth outcomes and infant health. "Violence While in Utero: The Impact of Assaults During Pregnancy on Birth Outcomes" by Janet Currie, Michael Mueller-Smith, and Maya Rossin-Slater. OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE: "Poverty, violence, and health the impact of domestic violence during pregnancy on newborn health"...

Ana Tur-Prats talks about how historical family types affect present-day intimate partner violence. "Family Types and Intimate-Partner Violence: A Historical Perspective" by Ana Tur-Prats. OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE: “Domestic Violence: A Nonrandom Affair” by Helen V. Tauchen, Ann Dryden Witte, and Sharon K. Long. “Domestic Violence: The Value of Services as Signals” by Amy Farmer a...

Stephen Billings talks about the long-term effects of early interventions for children exposed to lead. "Life after Lead: Effects of Early Interventions for Children Exposed to Lead" by Stephen B. Billings and Kevin T. Schnepel. OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE: "Lead Wars: The politics of science and the fate of America's children" by Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner. "Lead exposure and...

Host Jennifer Doleac talks with David Eil about a new Probable Causation feature: interviews with book authors.

Mica Sviatschi talks about the effects of criminal gangs on economic development in El Salvador. "Gangs, Labor Mobility, and Development" by Nikita Melnikov, Carlos Schmidt-Padilla, and Maria Micaela Sviatschi. (Draft available from the authors upon request.) OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE: “Legitimacy in Criminal Governance: Managing a Drug Empire from Behind Bars” by Benjamin Lessing...

Aaron Chalfin talks about the effects of street lighting on crime. "Reducing Crime Through Environmental Design: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment of Street Lighting in New York City" by Aaron Chalfin, Benjamin Hansen, Jason Lerner, and Lucie Parker. OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE: "Keep the kids inside? Juvenile curfews and urban gun violence" by Jillian B. Carr and Jennifer L. Dol...

Ariel White talks about the effect of short jail spells on subsequent voting behavior. "Misdemeanor Disenfranchisement? The Demobilizing Effects of Brief Jail Spells on Potential Voters" by Ariel White. OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE: "Turnout and Party Registration among Criminal Offenders in the 2008 General Election" by Traci Burch "Did Disfranchisement Laws Help Elect President Bush...

Michael Lovenheim talks about how grade retention affects students' later criminal activity. "The Effect of Grade Retention on Adult Crime: Evidence From a Test-Based Promotion Policy" by Ozkan Eren, Michael F. Lovenheim, and Naci H. Mocan. OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE: “In school and out of trouble: The minimum dropout age and juvenile crime” by D. Mark Anderson. “The effect of educa...

Steven Raphael talks about how California's sentencing reform policies have affected incarceration and crime rates in the state. "The effect of sentencing reform on crime rates: Evidence from California’s Proposition 47" by Magnus Lofstrom and Steven Raphael. OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE: "Public Safety Realignment and Crime Rates in California" by Magnus Lofstrom and Steven Raphael....

Emily Weisburst talks about the effects of putting police officers in schools. "Patrolling Public Schools: The Impact of Funding for School Police on Student Discipline and Long‐term Education Outcomes" by Emily K. Weisburst OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE: "Whose Help is on the Way? The Importance of Individual Police Officers in Law Enforcement Outcomes" by Emily Weisburst. "Police in...

Mike Mueller-Smith talks about the Criminal Justice Administrative Records System (CJARS) -- a new source of administrative data -- and how criminal justice policy affects economic and social disparities in the United States. "Criminal Justice in the US and Economic Inequality" by Michael G. Mueller-Smith and Keith Finlay.  OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE: "Correctional Populations in th...

Amanda Agan talks about the effects of Ban the Box policies. RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE: "Discrimination and the Effects of Drug Testing on Black Employment" by Abigail Wozniak. "Deleting a Signal: Evidence from Pre-Employment Credit Checks" by Alexander W. Bartik and Scott T. Nelson "Ban the Box, Criminal Records, and Racial Discrimination: A Field Experiment" by Amanda Agan and Sonja St...

Jeff Weaver talks about the long-term effects of parental and sibling incarceration. "The Effect of Parental and Sibling Incarceration: Evidence from Ohio" by Samuel Norris, Matthew Pecenco, and Jeffrey Weaver. OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE: “Disrupted Childhoods: Children of Women in Prison” by Jane A. Siegal. “Parental Arrest and Incarceration: How Does it Affect Children?” By Stephe...

Manisha Shah talks about the effects of criminalizing sex work. “Crimes against Morality: Unintended Consequences of Criminalizing Sex Work” by Lisa Cameron, Jennifer Muz, and Manisha Shah. OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE: "The Effect of Adult Entertainment Establishments on Sex Crime: Evidence from New York City" by Riccardo Ciacci and Maria Micaela Sviatschi. "Banning the purchase of p...

Kevin Schnepel talks about the effects of diversion from a felony conviction on long-run outcomes for criminal defendants. “Diversion in the Criminal Justice System” by Michael Mueller-Smith and Kevin T. Schnepel OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE: “Juvenile incarceration, human capital, and future crime: Evidence from randomly assigned judges” by Anna Aizer and Joseph J. Doyle, Jr. “Incarc...

Megan Stevenson talks about the effects of cash bail and Philadelphia’s bail reform efforts. “Evaluating the Impacts of Eliminating Prosecutorial Requests for Cash Bail” by Aurelie Ouss and Megan T. Stevenson *** Probable Causation is part of Doleac Initiatives, a 501(c)(3) corporation. If you enjoy the show, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution . Thank you for supporting our work!...

Analisa Packham talks about the effects of syringe exchange programs on HIV rates, opioid abuse, and crime. "Are Syringe Exchange Programs Helpful or Harmful? New Evidence in the Wake of the Opioid Epidemic" by Analisa Packham. *** Probable Causation is part of Doleac Initiatives, a 501(c)(3) corporation. If you enjoy the show, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution . Thank you for s...

Eric Chyn talks about the effect of moving to better neighborhoods on criminal justice involvement. "Moved to Opportunity: The Long-Run Effects of Public Housing Demolition on Children" by Eric Chyn. *** Probable Causation is part of Doleac Initiatives, a 501(c)(3) corporation. If you enjoy the show, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution . Thank you for supporting our work! *** OTHE...

Chloe Gibbs talks about the intergenerational effects of Head Start on criminal behavior. “ Breaking the Cycle? Intergenerational Effects of an Anti-Poverty Program in Early Childhood ” by Andrew Barr and Chloe R. Gibbs. *** Probable Causation is part of Doleac Initiatives, a 501(c)(3) corporation. If you enjoy the show, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution . Thank you for supporti...

Launching this spring: A new podcast about research related to law, economics, and crime.