Speeding, Punishment, and Recidivism - Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design

Markus Gehrsitz ()
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Markus Gehrsitz: Ph.D. Program in Economics, Graduate Center, CUNY

No 11, Working Papers from City University of New York Graduate Center, Ph.D. Program in Economics

Abstract: This paper estimates the effects of temporary driver's license suspensions on driving behavior. A little known rule in the German traffic penalty catalogue maintains that drivers who commit a series of speeding transgressions within 365 days should have their license suspended for one month. My fuzzy regression discontinuity design exploits the quasi-random assignment of license suspensions caused by the 365-day cutoff and shows that 1-month license suspensions lower the probability of recidivating within a year by 20 percent. This effect is not driven by incapacitation and indicates that temporary license suspensions are an effective tool in preventing traffic transgressions.

Keywords: Speeding; Recidivism; Punishment; Economics of Crime; Risky Behavior; Regression Discontinuity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I18 K42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 46
Date: 2016-03-22
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-law and nep-tre
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