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Leave the Door Open? Prison Conditions and Recidivism

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  • Giovanni Mastrobuoni
  • Daniele Terlizzese

Abstract

The question of how prison conditions affect recidivism is very important. In designing a prison system, one would want to know the answer. We estimate the effect on recidivism of replacing time served in a common closed-cell prison with time served in an open-cell one. We deal with the endogenous assignment of inmates to different prison regimes using variation that is driven by nearby prisons’ overcrowding. Switching regimes for a year reduces recidivism by around 6 percentage points. The effects are largest for inmates with low levels of education and are weak for hardened criminals.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni Mastrobuoni & Daniele Terlizzese, 2018. "Leave the Door Open? Prison Conditions and Recidivism," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 580, Collegio Carlo Alberto.
    • Handle: RePEc:cca:wpaper:580
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. William Arbour & Steeve Marchand, 2022. "Parole, Recidivism, and the Role of Supervised Transition," Working Papers tecipa-725, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    2. Zanella, Giulio, 2020. "Prison Work and Convict Rehabilitation," IZA Discussion Papers 13446, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Libor Dušek & Christian Traxler, 2024. "Swiftness and Delay of Punishment," CESifo Working Paper Series 10906, CESifo.
    4. d'Este, Rocco, 2022. "Scientific Advancements in Illegal Drugs Production and Institutional Responses: New Psychoactive Substances, Self-Harm, and Violence inside Prisons," IZA Discussion Papers 15248, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Steeve Marchand & Guy Lacroix & William Arbour, 2023. "Prison rehabilitation programs and recidivism: evidence from variations in availability," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2023n07, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    6. Basevi, Giorgio & Zanella, Giulio, 2022. "L'economia dei programmi di lavoro e istruzione in carcere: alcune riflessioni e un confronto internazionale," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 75(4), pages 407-428.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Crime; Prison Conditions; Deterrence; Rehabilitation; Open Prison.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K14 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Criminal Law
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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