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Cited by 342

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 32 of the 32 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Do Harsher Prison Conditions Reduce Recidivism? A Discontinuity-based Approach

Chen, M. K., Shapiro, J. M.·2007·American Law and Economics Review

Abstract

We estimate the causal effect of prison conditions on recidivism rates by exploiting a discontinuity in the assignment of federal prisoners to security levels. Inmates housed in higher security levels are no less likely to recidivate than those housed in minimum security; if anything, our estimates suggest that harsher prison conditions lead to more post-release crime. Though small sample sizes limit the precision of our estimates, we argue that our findings may have important implications for prison policy, and that our methodology is likely to be applicable beyond the particular context we study. JEL classification: K42, Z13, J62 Earlier versions of this article circulated under the title ‘‘Does Prison Harden Inmates? A Discontinuity-based Approach.’ ’ We are extremely grateful for data and

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Metadata

Authors
Chen, M. K., & Shapiro, J. M.
Venue
American Law and Economics Review
Published
2007-04-23
Volume
9
Issue
1
Pages
1-29
ISSN
  • 1465-7252 (ISSN-L)
  • 1465-7260
OpenAlex
W2008128382
Cited by
342
References
32
FWCI
25.97
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Do Harsher Prison Conditions Reduce Recidivism? A Discontinuity-based Approach. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1093/aler/ahm006
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Chen, M. K., & Shapiro, J. M. (2007). Do Harsher Prison Conditions Reduce Recidivism? A Discontinuity-based Approach. American Law and Economics Review. https://doi.org/10.1093/aler/ahm006

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