The Persistence of the Criminal Justice Gender Gap: Evidence from 200 Years of Judicial Decisions

Randi Hjalmarsson and Anna Bindler

No 14067, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: We document persistent gender gaps favoring females in jury convictions and judge sentences in nearly 200 years of London trials, which are unexplained by case characteristics. We find that three sharp changes in punishment severity locally affected the size and nature of the gaps, but were generally not strong enough to offset their persistence. These local effects suggest a mechanism of taste-based discrimination (paternalism) where the all-male judiciary protected females from the harshest available punishment.

Keywords: Gender; Gender gap; Crime; Verdict; Sentencing; Discrimination; History (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J16 K14 K40 N33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp, nep-his and nep-law
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Related works:
Journal Article: The Persistence of the Criminal Justice Gender Gap: Evidence from 200 Years of Judicial Decisions (2020)
Working Paper: The Persistence of the Criminal Justice Gender Gap: Evidence from 200 Years of Judicial Decisions (2019)
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