As central actors in the criminal justice system, prosecutors have substantial discretion to file charges, seek pretrial detention, divert cases, negotiate pleas, and make sentence recommendations. Several counties have recently elected prosecutors whose platforms focused on criminal justice reform, however, there is little empirical research on the outcomes of prosecutor-driven reforms. Economist Aurelie Ouss will examine the role that prosecution policies play in mitigating social and economic disparities within the criminal justice system.

White and Black Americans use cannabis at roughly the same rate, but Blacks are disproportionately arrested and incarcerated for drug offenses. The legalization of cannabis may mitigate the damage of cannabis prohibition on racial disparities in the criminal justice system, but few studies have examined the role of Recreational Cannabis Laws (RCLs) on racial and ethnic disparities. Economist Angelica Meinhofer will examine the impact of RCLs on racial and ethnic disparities in law enforcement contact and criminal activity.

A person’s neighborhood has large effects on their wellbeing and economic opportunities. A key factor limiting where people can live is their ability to obtain a mortgage, suggesting that credit access affects neighborhood choice. Economists Carl Liebersohn and Greg Howard will examine the extent to which access to credit explains household mobility and neighborhood choice. They will analyze data from the University of California Consumer Credit Panel, the American Community Survey, Zillow Research, and the Stanford Education Data Archive for their study.

Safety net programs provide resources to households that are in financial distress during times of increased need, but evidence of their effects on consumer financial health is scarce. Economists Tatiana Homonoff and Katherine Meckel will examine the effects of participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on financial distress among low-income households in California.

Rates of criminal justice contact and criminal victimization differ considerably across racial groups in the U.S. and Americans of different races and income levels reside in neighborhoods that, on average, differ dramatically in their characteristics and conditions. Economists Felipe Gonçalves and Emily Weisburst will examine the impact of residential segregation in neighborhood crime and arrest exposure across racial groups. They will analyze newly constructed data on 911 calls, crime reports, and arrests for their study.

While the climate science of sea level rise (SLR) is well established, less is known about the social and economic consequences of SLR. Economist Jonathan Colmer will examine which populations are exposed to projected SLR and how the risk of this exposure has evolved over time. He will develop and enhance the Census Environmental Impacts Frame, a new micro data infrastructure, for his study.

Research has estimated how school spending on teacher and other staff salaries and other costs affect test scores, home values, and later life outcomes. Less attention has been paid to the impacts of investments in a school’s physical facilities on these outcomes. Economists Elizabeth Cascio and Ethan Lewis will examine the extent to which racial inequality in school facilities narrowed in the 1950s and the impact of infrastructure investments on school attainment and home values.

Increasing the economic opportunities of disadvantaged individuals remains a pressing policy concern. Alexander Bartik and Bryan Stuart will evaluate the effects of an Internet job search tool being developed by the Department of Human Services in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania on the employment outcomes of the unemployed and workers with low earnings. They will conduct a randomized controlled trial of the job search tool for their study.

This grant is co-funded with the Carnegie Corporation.

This grant is co-funded with the Carnegie Corporation.