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Tough on young offenders : harmful or helpful?

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  • Lotti, Giulia

Abstract

How harshly should society punish young lawbreakers? Through a fuzzy regression discontinuity design, I compare harsh and rehabilitative criminal incarceration practices. Young offenders sent to the more rehabilitative youth facilities become less likely to reoffend compared to offenders experiencing prison. On the contrary, offenders at the margin of being exposed to the harsher youth facilities are 27 percent more likely to recidivate in the nine years subsequent to their custody, and they are more likely to commit violent offences, thefts, burglaries and robberies. Keeping young offenders separate from their older peers in prison seems effective, but only in institutions not solely focused on punishment.

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  • Lotti, Giulia, 2016. "Tough on young offenders : harmful or helpful?," Economic Research Papers 269320, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:uwarer:269320
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.269320
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