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An Empirical Analysis of Imprisoning Drug Offenders

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Author Info
Ilyana Kuziemko
Steven D. Levitt

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Abstract

The number of prisoners incarcerated on drug-related offenses rose fifteen-fold between 1980 and 2000. This paper provides the first systematic empirical analysis of the implications of that dramatic shift in public policy. We show that the increase in drug prisoners led to reductions in expected time served for other crimes, especially for less serious offenses. Reductions in time served, however, increased other crimes by no more than a few percent. Moreover, incarcerating drug offenders is found to be almost as effective in reducing violent and property crime as locking up other types of offenders. We estimate that cocaine prices are 10-15 percent higher today as a consequence of increases in drug punishment since 1985. Based on previous estimates of the price elasticity of demand for cocaine, this implies a reduction in cocaine consumed of as much as 20 percent.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 8489.

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Date of creation: Sep 2001
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:8489

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
K4 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior
H7 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations

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References listed on IDEAS
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  1. David L. Sollars, 1992. "Assumptions and Consequences of the War on Drugs: An Economic Analysis," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 11(1), pages 26-39, 03. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Lee, Li Way, 1993. "Would Harassing Drug Users Work?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(5), pages 939-59, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Grossman, Michael & Chaloupka, Frank J., 1998. "The demand for cocaine by young adults: a rational addiction approach," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 427-474, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Jeffrey DeSimone, 1998. "Is Marijuana a Gateway Drug?," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 24(2), pages 149-164, Spring. [Downloadable!]
  5. Henry Saffer & Frank Chaloupka, 1995. "The Demand for Illicit Drugs," NBER Working Papers 5238, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Levitt, Steven D, 1996. "The Effect of Prison Population Size on Crime Rates: Evidence from Prison Overcrowding Litigation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 111(2), pages 319-51, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Donohue, John J, III & Siegelman, Peter, 1998. "Allocating Resources among Prisons and Social Programs in the Battle against Crime," Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 27(1), pages 1-43, January.
  8. Desimone, Jeff, 2001. "The Effect of Cocaine Prices on Crime," Economic Inquiry, Oxford University Press, vol. 39(4), pages 627-43, October.
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  9. Frank J. Chaloupka & Michael Grossman & John A. Tauras, 1999. "The Demand for Cocaine and Marijuana by Youth," NBER Chapters, in: The Economic Analysis of Substance Use and Abuse: An Integration of Econometrics and Behavioral Economic Research, pages 133-156 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
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  10. Miron, Jeffrey A, 1999. "Violence and the U.S. Prohibitions of Drug and Alcohol," American Law and Economics Review, Oxford University Press, vol. 1(1-2), pages 78-114, Fall.
    Other versions:
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Steven D. Levitt, 2004. "Understanding Why Crime Fell in the 1990s: Four Factors That Explain the Decline and Six That Do Not," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 18(1), pages 163-190, Winter. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Dhaval Dave, 2004. "Illicit Drug Use Among Arrestees and Drug Prices," NBER Working Papers 10648, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Michael Grossman, 2004. "Individual Behaviors and Substance Use: The Role of Price," NBER Working Papers 10948, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Gathmann, Christina, 2004. "The Effects of Enforcement on Illegal Markets: Evidence from Migrant Smuggling along the Southwestern Border," IZA Discussion Papers 1004, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  5. Dhaval Dave, 2004. "The Effects of Cocaine and Heroin Prices on Drug-Related Emergency Department Visits," NBER Working Papers 10619, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Ronald B. Davies, 2003. "Mandatory Minimum Sentencing, Drug Purity, and a Test of Rational Drug Use," University of Oregon Economics Department Working Papers 2006-20, University of Oregon Economics Department, revised 10 Jun 2003. [Downloadable!]
  7. Hope Corman & Kelly Noonan & Nancy E. Reichman & Dhaval Dave, 2004. "Demand for Illicit Drugs by Pregnant Women," NBER Working Papers 10688, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Horst Entorf & Peter Winker, 2006. "Investigating the Drugs-Crime Channel in Economics of Crime Models Empirical Evidence from Panel Data of the German States," Darmstadt Discussion Papers in Economics 165, Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre (Department of Economics), Technische Universität Darmstadt (Darmstadt University of Technology). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Ian Irvine & Kuan Xu, 2002. "Crime, Punishment and Poverty in the United States," Department of Economics at Dalhousie University working papers archive uspov, Dalhousie, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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