Judge Peer Effects in the Courthouse / Ozkan Eren, Naci H. Mocan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Eren, Ozkan.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Mocan, Naci H.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w27713.

NBER working paper series no. w27713

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2020.

Summary:

We investigate whether consequential decisions made by judges are impacted by observable characteristics of peer judges. We utilize the universe of decisions on juvenile defendants in each courthouse in a Southern state over fifteen years. Leveraging random assignment of cases to judges, and variations in judge peer composition generated by judicial turnover, we show that an increase in the proportion of female peers in the courthouse causes a rise in individual judges' propensity to incarcerate, and an increase in prison time. This effect is driven by female judges. Further analysis suggests that this behavior of female judges is likely due to the sheer exposure to female colleagues.

Notes:

Print version record

August 2020.