Who gets arrested for marijuana use? The perils of being poor and black

Wesley Austin, Rand W. Ressler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

We explore the relationship between income, race and the probability of being arrested. Our data set is comprised of individuals who have all violated federal marijuana laws, some of whom have been arrested. We reason that the cost of arresting a poor individual with diminished social status is lower. Our empiricism reveals that the probability of arrest is higher when the law breaker is poor and African American.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)211-213
Number of pages3
JournalApplied Economics Letters
Volume24
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 23 2017

Keywords

  • Arrests
  • booked
  • income
  • race

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