Publications
- “The Effects of the Neighborhood Legal Services Program on Riots and Wealth of African Americans” w/ Rob Gillezeau. Forthcoming. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of Social Sciences.
- Racial Differences in Police Use of Force: Evidence from 1960s Civil Disturbances.” w/ Rob Gillezeau. 2018. American Economic Association Paper and Proceedings. 108: 217-21.
- "An Evaluation of the Federal Legal Services Program: Evidence from Crime Rates and Property Values." 2016. Journal of Urban Economics 92: 76-90.
Working Papers
"The Language of the Unheard: Legal Services and the 1960s Race Riots
Abstract
This paper uses newly collected data on communities that received legal services grants between 1965 and 1975 to evaluate the effectiveness of the federal anti-rioting program. Simple correlations show that legal services programs are associated with lower likelihood of riots. To address concerns about endogeneity and reverse causality, I propose an instrument variable based on the establishment of law schools, which were key to program implementation. Two-stage least squares results indicate a 3.6% reduction in the number of riots and a 56% reduction in the severity of riots due to legal services programs. Further, results also show that legal services programs are associated with better community-police relations in 1970. These results are consistent with the historical narrative that legal service lawyers’ involvement in community empowerment and advocacy mitigated the damage of riots that occurred in the 1960s.
Abstract
This paper uses newly collected data on communities that received legal services grants between 1965 and 1975 to evaluate the effectiveness of the federal anti-rioting program. Simple correlations show that legal services programs are associated with lower likelihood of riots. To address concerns about endogeneity and reverse causality, I propose an instrument variable based on the establishment of law schools, which were key to program implementation. Two-stage least squares results indicate a 3.6% reduction in the number of riots and a 56% reduction in the severity of riots due to legal services programs. Further, results also show that legal services programs are associated with better community-police relations in 1970. These results are consistent with the historical narrative that legal service lawyers’ involvement in community empowerment and advocacy mitigated the damage of riots that occurred in the 1960s.
Financing the War on Drugs: The Impact of Law Enforcement Grants on Racial Disparities in Drug Arrests
with Robynn Cox
Abstract
We estimate the effectiveness of the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program, a grant program authorized under the 1988 Anti-Drug Abuse Act to combat illicit drug abuse and to improve the criminal justice system, on racial bias in policing. Funds for the Byrne Grant program could be used for a variety of purposes to combat drug crimes, as well as violent and other drug related crimes. The event-study analysis suggests that implementation of this grant resulted in an increase in police hiring and an increase in arrests for drug trafficking. Post-treatment effect implies a 107 percent increase in white arrests for drug sales compared to a 44 percent increase for blacks 6 years after the first grant is received. However, due to historical racial differences in drug arrests, the substantial increase in white drug arrest still results in large racial disparities in drug arrests. This is supported by weighted least squares regression estimates that show, for every $100 increase in Byrne Grant funding, arrests for drug trafficking increased by roughly 22 per 100,000 white residents and by 101 arrests per 100,000 black residents. The results provide strong evidence that federal involvement in narcotic control and trafficking lead to an increase in drug arrests; disproportionally affecting blacks.
with Robynn Cox
Abstract
We estimate the effectiveness of the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program, a grant program authorized under the 1988 Anti-Drug Abuse Act to combat illicit drug abuse and to improve the criminal justice system, on racial bias in policing. Funds for the Byrne Grant program could be used for a variety of purposes to combat drug crimes, as well as violent and other drug related crimes. The event-study analysis suggests that implementation of this grant resulted in an increase in police hiring and an increase in arrests for drug trafficking. Post-treatment effect implies a 107 percent increase in white arrests for drug sales compared to a 44 percent increase for blacks 6 years after the first grant is received. However, due to historical racial differences in drug arrests, the substantial increase in white drug arrest still results in large racial disparities in drug arrests. This is supported by weighted least squares regression estimates that show, for every $100 increase in Byrne Grant funding, arrests for drug trafficking increased by roughly 22 per 100,000 white residents and by 101 arrests per 100,000 black residents. The results provide strong evidence that federal involvement in narcotic control and trafficking lead to an increase in drug arrests; disproportionally affecting blacks.
Don't Shoot! The Impact of Historical African American Protest on Police Killings of Civilians
with Rob Gillezeau
Abstract
The African American community has a long-standing history of protesting excessive use of force by law enforcement. However, there is little empirical evidence as to whether these protests affect the behavior of local police forces. We seek to close this gap by considering the impact racial uprisings in the 1960s have had on civilian deaths due to law enforcement activity (legal intervention). An event study approach reveals racial uprisings during the 1960s and 70s resulted in an increase in civilian deaths at the hands of police. In the three years following the initial violent protest, there was an additional 2.2 to 2.4 police killings of white Americans in impacted counties and 1.4 to 3.1 killings of non-white Americans. In subsequent years, the impact on killings of white Americans disappears while the impact on killings of non-whites persist. Furthermore, uprisings have little impact on police employment or crime, but the number of police officers killed on duty increases gradually over time. These results paint a depressing picture in which local police forces respond to racial unrest through increased killings of largely non-white civilians.
with Rob Gillezeau
Abstract
The African American community has a long-standing history of protesting excessive use of force by law enforcement. However, there is little empirical evidence as to whether these protests affect the behavior of local police forces. We seek to close this gap by considering the impact racial uprisings in the 1960s have had on civilian deaths due to law enforcement activity (legal intervention). An event study approach reveals racial uprisings during the 1960s and 70s resulted in an increase in civilian deaths at the hands of police. In the three years following the initial violent protest, there was an additional 2.2 to 2.4 police killings of white Americans in impacted counties and 1.4 to 3.1 killings of non-white Americans. In subsequent years, the impact on killings of white Americans disappears while the impact on killings of non-whites persist. Furthermore, uprisings have little impact on police employment or crime, but the number of police officers killed on duty increases gradually over time. These results paint a depressing picture in which local police forces respond to racial unrest through increased killings of largely non-white civilians.
Research In Progress
- "Family Structure and Welfare Participation in the 1960s: The Role of Legal Services" w/ Martha Bailey & Andrew Goodman-Bacon
- Un-Explaining the 40 Year Old Wage Differential: Race and Gender in the USA" w/ Karl Boulware
- Re-examination of Mayoral Elections Influence on Law Enforcement and Crime: Estimating the Elasticity of Police on Crime"