Probable Causation

Episode 75: Panka Bencsik on diversion for drug possession arrests

Panka Bencsik talks about a Chicago diversion program for drug possession arrests.
“Policing Substance Use: Chicago’s Treatment Program for Narcotics Arrests” by Ashna Arora and Panka Bencsik.
***
Probable Causation is part of Doleac Initiatives, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. If you enjoy the show, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you for supporting our work!
***
OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE:
“Misdemeanor Prosecution” by Amanda Agan, Jennifer Doleac, & Anna Harvey.
Episode 51 of Probable Causation: Amanda Agan & Anna Harvey.
“Diversion in the Criminal Justice System” by Michael Mueller-Smith & Kevin Schnepel.
Episode 5 of Probable Causation: Kevin Schnepel.
“Do Police Make Too Many Arrests? The Effect of Enforcement Pullbacks on Crime” by Sungwoo Cho, Felipe Goncalves, and Emily Weisburst.
Episode 65 of Probable Causation: Felipe Goncalves.
“Seattle’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD): Program Effects on Criminal Justice and Legal System Utilization and Costs” by Susan E. Collins, Heather S. Lonczak, & Seema L. Clifasefi.
“Local Access to Mental Healthcare and Crime” by Monica Deza, Johanna Catherine Maclean, and Keisha Solomon.
“Reducing Re-arrests through Light Touch Mental Health Outreach” by Mary Kate Batistich, William N. Evans, and David C. Phillips.
Episode 67 of Probable Causation: David Phillips.
“Mental Health and Criminal Involvement: Evidence from Losing Medicaid Eligibility” by Elisa Jácome.
Episode 60 of Probable Causation: Elisa Jácome.

Episode 74: Bryan Stuart on social connectedness and crime

Bryan Stuart talks about how social connectedness within cities affects local crime rates.
“The Effect of Social Connectedness on Crime: Evidence from the Great Migration” by Bryan Stuart and Evan Taylor.
***
Probable Causation is part of Doleac Initiatives, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. If you enjoy the show, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you for supporting our work!
***
OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE:
All Our Kin by Carol B. Stack.
“Neighborhoods and Violent Crime: A Multilevel Study of Collective Efficacy” by Robert J. Sampson, Stephen W. Raudenbush, and Felton Earls.
“Social Interactions and Location Decisions: Evidence from U.S. Mass Migration” by Bryan A. Stuart and Evan J. Taylor (Forthcoming).
“Can You Move to Opportunity? Evidence from the Great Migration” by Ellora Derenoncourt.
Episode 36 of Probable Causation: Ellora Derenoncourt.
“Are U.S. Cities Underpoliced? Theory and Evidence” by Aaron Chalfin and Justin McCrary.

Episode 73: Danila Serra on ethics training for police in Ghana

Danila Serra talks about the effects of a new ethics training program for police officers in Ghana.
“Proud to Belong: The Impact of Ethics Training on Police in Ghana” by Donna Harris, Oana Borcan, Danila Serra, Henry Telli, Bruno Schettini, and Stefan Dercon.
***
Probable Causation is part of Doleac Initiatives, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. If you enjoy the show, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you for supporting our work!
***
OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE:
“Can You Build a Better Cop? Experimental Evidence on Supervision, Training, and Policing in the Community” by Emily Owens, David Weisburd, Karen L. Amendola, and Geoffrey P. Alpert.
“Shaping Police Officer Mindsets and Behaviors: Experimental Evidence of Procedural Justice Training” by Rodrigo Canales et al.
“The Greater Manchester Police Procedural Justice Training Experiment” by Levin Wheller, Paul Quinton, Alistair Fildes, and Andy Mills.
“Can Police Training Reduce Ethnic/Racial Disparities in Stop and Search? Evidence from a Multisite UK Trial” by Joel Miller, Paul Quinton, Banos Alexandrou, and Daniel Packham.
“Procedural Justice Training Reduces Police Use of Force and Complaints Against Officers” by George Wood, Tom R. Tyler, and Andrew V. Papachristos.
Revised findings for “Procedural Justice Training Reduces Police Use of Force and Complaints Against Officers” by George Wood, Tom R. Tyler, Andrew V. Papachristos et al.
“Doing Research with Police Elites in Ghana” by Emmanuel Addo Sowatey and Justice Tankebe.
“The Effect of Field Training Officers on Police Use of Force” by Chandon Adger, Matthew Ross, and CarlyWill Sloan.

Episode 72: Manasi Deshpande on SSI benefits and crime

Manasi Deshpande talks about how access to Supplementary Security Income (SSI) benefits affects criminal behavior.
“Does Welfare Prevent Crime? The Criminal Justice Outcomes of Youth Removed from SSI” by Manasi Deshpande and Michael Mueller-Smith.
***
Probable Causation is part of Doleac Initiatives, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. If you enjoy the show, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you for supporting our work!
***
OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE:
“Does Welfare Inhibit Success? The Long-Term Effects of Removing Low-Income Youth from the Disability Rolls” by Manasi Deshpande.
“Changing Circumstances: Experiences of Child SSI Recipients Before and After their Age-18 Redetermination for Adult Benefits” by Jeffrey Hemmeter, Jacqueline Kauff, and David Wittenburg.
“Longitudinal Patterns of Disability Program Participation and Mortality Across Childhood SSI Award Cohorts” by Kalman Rupp, Jeffrey Hemmeter, and Paul S. Davies.
“Does Public Assistance Reduce Recidivism?” by Crystal S. Yang.
“Does Emergency Financial Assistance Reduce Crime?” by Caroline Palmer, David C. Phillips, and James X. Sullivan.
Probable Causation Episode 34: David Phillips
Probable Causation Episode 9: Michael Mueller-Smith
“Mental Health and Criminal Involvement: Evidence from Losing Medicaid Eligibility” by Elisa Jácome.
Probable Causation Episode 60: Elisa Jácome

Bonus episode: Chris Blattman on why we fight

David Eil talks with Chris Blattman about his book, "Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace."
***
Probable Causation is part of Doleac Initiatives, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. If you enjoy the show, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you for supporting our work!
 

Episode 71: Zoë Cullen on increasing employment for people with criminal records

Zoë Cullen talks about how to incentivize employers to hire workers with criminal records.
“Increasing the Demand for Workers with a Criminal Record” by Zoë Cullen, Will Dobbie, and Mitchell Hoffman.
***
Probable Causation is part of Doleac Initiatives, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. If you enjoy the show, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you for supporting our work!
***
OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE:
“The Effect of Criminal Records on Access to Employment” by Amanda Agan and Sonja B. Starr.
“The Unintended Consequences of “Ban the Box”: Statistical Discrimination and Employment Outcomes When Criminal Histories Are Hidden” by Jennifer L. Doleac and Benjamin Hansen.
Episode 8 of Probable Causation: Amanda Agan
“Inefficient Hiring in Entry-Level Labor Markets” by Amanda Pallais.
“The Effects of Letters of Recommendation in the Youth Labor Market” by Sara B. Heller and Judd B. Kessler.

Episode 70: Pedro Souza on police body-worn cameras

Pedro Souza talks about the effects of police body-worn cameras in Brazil.
“De-escalation Technology: The Impact of Body-worn Cameras on Citizen-police Interactions” by Daniel AC Barbosa, Thiemo Fetzer, Caterina Soto and Pedro CL Souza
***
Probable Causation is part of Doleac Initiatives, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. If you enjoy the show, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you for supporting our work!
***
OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE:
“Wearing Body Cameras Increases Assaults Against Officers and Does Not Reduce Police Use of Force: Results from a Global Multi-site Experiment” by Barak Ariel, et al.
“The Effects of Body-Worn Cameras on Police Activity and Police-Citizen Encounters: A
Randomized Controlled Trial” by Anthony Braga, et al.
“Body-worn Cameras’ Effects on Police Officers and Citizen Behavior: A Systematic Review” by Cynthia Lum, et al.
“Evaluating the Effects of Police Body-worn Cameras: A Randomized Controlled Trial” by David Yokum, Anita Ravishankar, and Alexander Coppock.
“Community Policing Does Not Build Citizen Trust in Police or Reduce Crime in the Global South” by Graeme Blair, et al.
“How Body-worn Cameras Affect the Use of Gunshots , Stop-and Searches and Other Forms of Police Behavior: A Randomized Control Trial in Rio de Janeiro” by Beatriz Magaloni, Vanessa Melo, Gustavo Robles, and Gustavo Empinotti [WORKING PAPER]
“The Effects of Body-worn Cameras on Policing and Court Outcomes: Evidence from the Court System in Virginia” by Katie Bollman.

Episode 21: Aurelie Ouss on reducing failures-to-appear in court (REBROADCAST)

Aurelie Ouss talks about using insights from behavioral economics to reduce failures-to-appear in court. This episode was first posted in January 2020.
"Nudging Crime Policy: Reducing Failures to Appear for Court" by Alissa Fishbane, Aurelie Ouss, and Anuj K. Shah. (Available from the authors upon request.)
Related policy paper: "Using Behavioral Science to Improve Criminal Justice Outcomes: Preventing Failures to Appear in Court" by Brice Cook, Binta Zahra Diop, Alissa Fishbane, Jonathan Hayes, Aurelie Ouss, and Anuj Shah.
***
Probable Causation is part of Doleac Initiatives, a 501(c)(3) corporation. If you enjoy the show, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you for supporting our work!
***
OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE:
"Bail, Jail, and Pretrial Misconduct: The Influence of Prosecutors" by Aurelie Ouss and Megan T. Stevenson.
“Distortion of Justice: How the Inability to Pay Bail Affects Case Outcomes” by Megan T. Stevenson.
“The Effects of Pretrial Detention on Conviction, Future Crime, and Employment: Evidence from Randomly Assigned Judges” by Will Dobbie, Jacob Goldin, and Crystal S. Yang.
“The Unintended Impact of Pretrial Detention on Case Outcomes: Evidence from New York City Arraignments” by Emily Leslie and Nolan G. Pope.
“The Downstream Consequences of Misdemeanor Pretrial Detention” by Paul Heaton, Sandra Mayson, and Megan Stevenson.
Episode 4 of Probable Causation: Megan Stevenson
"Thinking, Fast and Slow? Some Field Experiments to Reduce Crime and Dropout in Chicago" by Sara B. Heller, Anuj K. Shah, Jonathan Guryan, Jens Ludwig, Sendhil Mullainathan, and Harold A. Pollack.
“Behavioral Biases and Legal Compliance: A Field Experiment” by Natalia Emanuel and Helen Ho.

Episode 31: Randi Hjalmarsson on jury decision-making (REBROADCAST)

Randi Hjalmarsson talks about how punishment severity affects juries' decisions to convict. This episode was first posted in June 2020.
"How Punishment Severity Affects Jury Verdicts: Evidence from Two Natural Experiments" by Anna Bindler and Randi Hjalmarsson.
***
Probable Causation is part of Doleac Initiatives, a 501(c)(3) corporation. If you enjoy the show, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you for supporting our work!
***
OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE:
“Making the Crime Fit the Penalty: The Role of Prosecutorial Discretion under Mandatory Minimum Sentencing” by David Bjerk.
“The Impact of Jury Race in Criminal Trials” by Shamena Anwar, Patrick Bayer, and Randi Hjalmarsson.
“The Role of Age in Jury Selection and Trial Outcomes” by Shamena Anwar, Patrick Bayer, and Randi Hjalmarsson.
“A Jury of Her Peers: The Impact of the First Female Jurors on Criminal Verdicts” by Shamena Anwar, Patrick Bayer, and Randi Hjalmarsson.
“Politics in the Courtroom: Political Ideology and Jury Decision Making” by Shamena Anwar, Patrick Bayer, and Randi Hjalmarsson.
“No Hatred or Malice, Fear or Affection: Media and Sentencing” by Aurelie Ouss and Arnaud Philippe.
“Path Dependency in Jury Decision Making” by Anna Bindler and Randi Hjalmarsson.
“The Persistence of the Criminal Justice Gender Gap: Evidence from 200 Years of Judicial Decisions” by Anna Bindler and Randi Hjalmarsson.
“The Impact of the First Professional Police Forces on Crime” by Anna Bindler and Randi Hjalmarsson.
 
 

Episode 69: Molly Schnell on school shootings

Molly Schnell talks about how exposure to school shootings affects students.
“Trauma at School: The Impacts of Shootings on Students’ Human Capital and Economic Outcomes” by Marika Cabral, Bokyung Kim, Maya Rossin-Slater, Molly Schnell, and Hannes Schwandt
***
Probable Causation is part of Doleac Initiatives, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. If you enjoy the show, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you for supporting our work!
***
OTHER RESEARCH WE DISCUSS IN THIS EPISODE:
“Local Exposure to School Shootings and Youth Antidepressant Use” by Maya Rossin-Slater, Molly Schnell, Hannes Schwandt, Sam Trejo, and Lindsey Uniat.
“Not All School Shootings are the Same and the Differences Matter” by Phillip B. Levine and Robin McKnight.
“Exposure to a School Shooting and Subsequent Well-Being” by Phillip B. Levine and Robin McKnight.
“Shocking News and Cognitive Performance” by Panu Poutvaara and Olli Ropponen.
“School Shootings and Private School Enrollment” by Rahi Abouk and Scott Adams.
“The Effect of High School Shootings on Schools and Student Performance” by Louis-Philippe Beland and Dongwoo Kim.
“The Effects of Police Violence on Inner-City Students” by Desmond Ang.
Probable Causation Episode 50: Desmond Ang.
“Surviving a Mass Shooting” by Prashant Bharadwaj, Manudeep Bhuller, Katrine Løken, and Mirjam Wentzel.
“Violence and Human Capital Investments” by Martin Foureaux Koppensteiner and Lívia Menezes.