The rate of incarceration has increased dramatically in the U.S. since 1980. We explore the implications of this increased incarceration on national poverty measurement using micro data for the period 1979-1997. We make use of an as-yet unexplored data set on prisoner earnings, in conjunction...

Does the death penalty save lives? A surge of recent interest in this question has yielded a series of papers purporting to show robust and precise estimates of a substantial deterrent effect of capital punishment. We assess the various approaches that have been used in this literature, testing...

This paper studies the effects of both labor market conditions and asset poverty on the property crimes involvement of American males. Since the mid 60's the property crimes arrest rate has been four times higher for black males if compared to white ones. Another set of stylised facts show for...