Does it pay to ensure bail? An RCT on the effects of bail cost-sharing
November 10, Wednesday, 11:30 am - 12:30 pm, on Zoom. The Zoom link is circulated separately via the BEE email list. Please fill the registration form to join our mailing list.
Presenter
Postdoctoral Research Fellow at University of Michigan - School of Information
Abstract
There is growing evidence that pretrial detention worsens both criminal justice and labor market outcomes: for those on the margin of being detained while awaiting trial, pretrial detention increases the likelihood of conviction and decreases both employment and the receipt of government benefits (Dobbie et al., 2018; Stevenson, 2018). Many who are detained pretrial would be released if they could post bail; not being able to afford bail might then have detrimental long-term consequences that are costly to that individual and to society. One possible solution to this is bail cost-sharing: for a monthly fee, individuals will be guaranteed that bail will be paid quickly upon arrest. In early January 2022, we plan to launch a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of bail cost-sharing on individual outcomes, such as likelihood of arrest and days incarcerated. The intention of this seminar presentation is to review our RCT design and survey to ensure it is ready for launch.