Life and Death in the Fast Lane: Police Enforcement and Traffic Fatalities

Gregory DeAngelo and Benjamin Hansen

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2014, vol. 6, issue 2, 231-57

Abstract: Simultaneity complicates the estimation of the causal effect of police on crime. We overcome this obstacle by focusing on a mass layoff of Oregon State Police in February of 2003. Due solely to budget cuts, 35 percent of the roadway troopers were laid off, which dramatically reduced citations. The subsequent decrease in enforcement is associated with a significant increase in injuries and fatalities. The effects are similar using control groups chosen either geographically or through data-driven methods. Our estimates suggest that a highway fatality can be prevented with $309,000 of expenditures on state police.

JEL-codes: H76 K42 R41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
Note: DOI: 10.1257/pol.6.2.231
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (92)

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