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Law Enforcement Leaders And The Racial Composition Of Arrests

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  • George Bulman

Abstract

This paper introduces a novel avenue of study for understanding the mechanisms behind racial discrimination in law enforcement. I exploit a new 25‐year panel history of the race of every U.S. sheriff to shed light on the potentially important role of managers who make hiring decisions and set departmental priorities. Comparing agencies that experience racial transitions to agencies with overlapping jurisdictions reveals that the ratio of Black‐to‐White arrests is significantly higher under White sheriffs. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the effects are driven by arrests for less‐serious offenses and by targeting Black crime types. (JEL J15, K42, M54, H76)

Suggested Citation

  • George Bulman, 2019. "Law Enforcement Leaders And The Racial Composition Of Arrests," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 57(4), pages 1842-1858, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:57:y:2019:i:4:p:1842-1858
    DOI: 10.1111/ecin.12800
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Robynn Cox & Jamein P. Cunningham, 2021. "Financing The War On Drugs: The Impact Of Law Enforcement Grants On Racial Disparities In Drug Arrests," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(1), pages 191-224, January.
    2. Dhammika Dharmapala & Richard H. McAdams & John Rappaport, 2019. "Collective Bargaining and Police Misconduct: Evidence from Florida," CESifo Working Paper Series 7718, CESifo.
    3. Amartya Bose, 2020. "Racial disparities in law enforcement: The role of in-group bias and electoral pressures," Discussion Papers 2020-11, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.
    4. Giovanni Facchini & Brian Knight & Cecilia Testa, 2020. "The Franchise, Policing, and Race: Evidence from Arrests Data and the Voting Rights Act," Working Papers 2020-18, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    5. Nayoung Rim & Roman Rivera & Andrea Kiss & Bocar Ba, 2020. "The Black-White Recognition Gap in Award Nominations," Working Papers 2020-065, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    6. Losak, Shannon R. & Makowsky, Michael D., 2024. "Lame duck law enforcement," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • M54 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Management
    • H76 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Other Expenditure Categories

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