Using data from hundreds of closely contested partisan elections from 2010 to 2019 and a vote share regression discontinuity design, we find that narrow election of a Republican prosecutor reduces all-cause mortality rates among young men ages 20 to 29 by 6.6%. This decline is driven predominantly by reductions in firearm-related deaths, including a large reduction in firearm…
“Tough on crime” is good for young men
“Tough on crime” is good for young men
26 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order
Two killers who shouldn’t get parole
12 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, health economics, law and economics Tags: crime and punishment
The Herald reports on Scott Watson: That’s a pretty good sign that Watson shouldn’t be released. Unprovoked violence. And they also report on Clayton Weatherston: The reports referred to his diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder – specifically characterised as “gross narcissism”. They also mentioned “psychopathy” and categorised Weatherston as being a high risk of reoffending. …
Two killers who shouldn’t get parole
Police Thwart Alleged Assassination of OMB Director Russell Vought
08 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: crime and punishment, law and order, criminal deterrence, regressive left

There is a chilling story out this morning that another assassination attempt may have been averted. This time, the target…
Police Thwart Alleged Assassination of OMB Director Russell Vought
Double murderer has been freed on parole – but would he have been jailed if the Maori Party had been running things 20 years ago?
07 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order
The New Zealand public learned today that Tauranga double murderer Anthony Doyle has been released on parole after serving 20 years. It turns out he was freed before the New Year. Doyle blasted a couple to death with a shotgun under a bridge near Tauranga in 2005 after a dispute over a drug debt. He […]
Double murderer has been freed on parole – but would he have been jailed if the Maori Party had been running things 20 years ago?
No wonder Te Pāti Māori wants to abolish prisons when Māori make up most of the inmates
30 Jan 2026 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand, law and economics, economics of crime Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order, regressive left

Te Pāti Māori says it wants to abolish prisons by 2040.
No wonder Te Pāti Māori wants to abolish prisons when Māori make up most of the inmates
New York Times Rewrites History Again With Nikole Hannah-Jones
31 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: crime and punishment, regressive left, war against terror

Former New York Times reporter and Howard University professor Nikole Hannah-Jones has long been controversial as a writer who expressly…
New York Times Rewrites History Again With Nikole Hannah-Jones
The Impact of Jury Race in Criminal Trials
31 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, econometerics, economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: crime and punishment, law and order, racial discrimination

In a great paper, The Impact of Jury Race in Criminal Trials, Shamena Anwar, Patrick Bayer and Randi Hjalmarsson exploit random variation in the jury pool to estimate the effect of race on criminal trials. The authors have data from nearly 800 trials in two Florida counties. On any given day, a jury pool is randomly […]
The Impact of Jury Race in Criminal Trials
Two Alleged Antifa Members Charged with Terrorism-Related Crimes
18 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: crime and punishment, law and order

I recently wrote about the effort of leading politicians, pundits, and the press to deny the existence of Antifa as violence on the left rises around the country. Even Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) insisted that “nobody” knows what the left-wing terrorist organization Antifa is and that it does not exist. However, he previously […]
Two Alleged Antifa Members Charged with Terrorism-Related Crimes
More judicial activism
11 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: constitutional law, crime and punishment, law and order, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Roger Partridge writes: When Parliament says gang insignia “is forfeited to the Crown,” citizens are entitled to assume those words mean what they say. Yet on 11 August the District Court ruled otherwise. Judge Lance Rowe directed that a Mongrel Mob vest, seized under the Government’s new Gangs Act 2024 and forfeited following a guilty plea, should nevertheless […]
More judicial activism
Shane Jones is right
22 Sep 2025 1 Comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, regressive left

Te Pāti Māori and the Greens don’t care about crime in New Zealand
Shane Jones is right
A gross failure of editorial judgment
03 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order, regressive left
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a story in the New Zealand Herald this morning about the death of former King Cobras gang leader Ulaiasi “Rocky” Pulete. Carrying the byline of Herald crime reporter Jared Savage, it’s written in the reverential tones normally reserved for an esteemed community leader, business person or sporting figure. Pulete is described as “a […]
A gross failure of editorial judgment
A cunning neo-nazi
01 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, gender, law and economics Tags: crime and punishment, Germany, law and order, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination, useful idiots

The Herald reports: A German neo-Nazi will be allowed to start serving an 18-month sentence in a women’s prison after he used a new government policy to register a change in gender. Sven Liebich, who has been photographed at far-right rallies wearing a Nazi-style uniform, will be sent to the Chemnitz women’s prison in Saxony, […]
A cunning neo-nazi
Labour always backs the crims
30 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order
Stuff reports: With a new trial for court bailiffs to seize cars if their owners haven’t paid fines, the Labour Party says innocent families could be left “stranded”. The Government is trialling new technology for bailiffs to scan number plates as they search for people who have unpaid fines. They will then clamp or seize […]
Labour always backs the crims
The pro shoplifting party
08 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order, regressive left
Paul Goldsmith released: Green MP Tamatha Paul is giving shoplifting the green light as she opposes the Government’s plan to strengthen penalties, National Party Spokesperson for Justice Paul Goldsmith says. “The Greens are singing from the same old song sheet, making excuses for anyone who attacks or steals from hard working New Zealanders.” Yesterday Ms […]
The pro shoplifting party
Is shoplifting ever okay?
04 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order
What happened to law makers being on the side of the law? A Green Party MP thinks it’s okay to shoplift: Green MP Tamatha Paul is giving shoplifting the green light as she opposes the Government’s plan to strengthen penalties, National Party Spokesperson for Justice Paul Goldsmith says. “The Greens are singing from the same […]
Is shoplifting ever okay?
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