Research

Working Papers

Since 1990, 38 states have passed medical marijuana laws (MML) that allow for possession and consumption of medical marijuana with written recommendation from a doctor. In this paper, I leverage within-state variation to estimate the effect of legalizing medical marijuana on recidivism and explore whether distribution via dispensaries or home cultivation differentially affects recidivism. Utilizing data on over nine million prison releases between 1990 and 2016, I estimate that an MML with dispensaries and no provisions for home cultivation decreases overall recidivism by 2.7 percentage points, while an MML that distributes via both dispensaries and home cultivation increases recidivism by 3.3 percentage points. These effects are most concentrated in individuals with history of drug offenses.

"Gun Bounties and Gun Violence"

Gun bounty programs are a local measure that offer $1,000 in exchange for anonymous tips regarding gun law violations. Between 2000 and 2019, 17 counties in Florida implemented a gun bounty program. Leveraging variation in the rollout of gun bounty programs and utilizing recent advances in difference-in-differences literature, I estimate that gun bounties lead to a 10%-30% decrease in robberies involving a firearm.

Works in Progress

"More ShotSpotter, Less Crime? Evidence from Miami"