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Failing to Follow the Rules: Can Imprisonment Lead to More Imprisonment Without More Actual Crime?

Author

Listed:
  • Franco, Catalina

    (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration)

  • Harding, David J.

    (University of California, Berkeley)

  • Bushway, Shawn D.

    (Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, University at Albany (SUNY))

  • Morenoff, Jeffrey

    (Sociology Department, Population Studies Center and Survey Research Center, University of Michigan)

Abstract

We find that people involved in low-level crime receiving a prison sentence are more likely than those with non-prison sentences to be re-imprisoned due to technical violations of parole, rather than due to new crimes. We identify the extent and cost of this incapacitation effect among individuals with similar criminal histories using exogenous variation in sentence type from discontinuities in Michigan Sentencing Guidelines. Technical violations disproportionately affect drug users and those first arrested as juveniles. Higher re-imprisonment adds one-quarter to the original sentence’s incapacitation days while only preventing low-severity crime, suggesting that prison is cost-ineffective for individuals on the margin.

Suggested Citation

  • Franco, Catalina & Harding, David J. & Bushway, Shawn D. & Morenoff, Jeffrey, 2022. "Failing to Follow the Rules: Can Imprisonment Lead to More Imprisonment Without More Actual Crime?," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 3/2022, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics, revised 01 Oct 2018.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:nhheco:2022_003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Imprisonment; incapacitation; technical violations; sentencing guidelines;
    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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