TY - JOUR
T1 - The War on Drugs and Crime Rates
AU - Saadatmand, Yassaman
AU - Toma, Michael
AU - Choquette, Jeremy
PY - 2012/4/30
Y1 - 2012/4/30
N2 - This paper analyzes the effects of the War on Drugs on crime rates. Many in the field of law enforcement believe that incarcerating drug offenders reduces crime. However, time-series analysis of four types of crime rates in the United States does not support this view. Using seven explanatory variables, including federal spending on the Drug Enforcement Agency, incarceration rates for drug offenders, and abortion rates, the results suggest the incarceration of drug offenders causes a crowding-out effect in prisons, releasing non-drug offenders and thereby potentially increasing, rather than reducing crime.
AB - This paper analyzes the effects of the War on Drugs on crime rates. Many in the field of law enforcement believe that incarcerating drug offenders reduces crime. However, time-series analysis of four types of crime rates in the United States does not support this view. Using seven explanatory variables, including federal spending on the Drug Enforcement Agency, incarceration rates for drug offenders, and abortion rates, the results suggest the incarceration of drug offenders causes a crowding-out effect in prisons, releasing non-drug offenders and thereby potentially increasing, rather than reducing crime.
KW - Crime rates
KW - Drugs
KW - War
UR - https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/economics-facpubs/42
UR - https://doi.org/10.19030/jber.v10i5.6980
U2 - 10.19030/jber.v10i5.6980
DO - 10.19030/jber.v10i5.6980
M3 - Article
SN - 2157-8893
VL - 10
JO - Journal of Business and Economics Research
JF - Journal of Business and Economics Research
ER -
