Econometrica

Journal Of The Econometric Society

An International Society for the Advancement of Economic
Theory in its Relation to Statistics and Mathematics

Edited by: Guido W. Imbens • Print ISSN: 0012-9682 • Online ISSN: 1468-0262

Econometrica: Jan, 2024, Volume 92, Issue 1

Can Restorative Justice Conferencing Reduce Recidivism? Evidence From the Make-it-Right Program

https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA20996
p. 61-78

Yotam Shem‐Tov, Steven Raphael, Alissa Skog

This paper studies the effect of a restorative justice intervention targeted at 143 youth ages 13 to 17 facing felony charges of medium severity (e.g., burglary, assault). Eligible youths were randomly assigned to participate in the Make‐it‐Right (MIR) restorative justice program or a control group where they faced standard criminal prosecution. We estimate the effects of MIR on the likelihood that a youth will be rearrested in the four years following randomization. Assignment to MIR reduces the probability of a rearrest within six months by 19 percentage points, a 44 percent reduction relative to the control group. Moreover, the reduction in recidivism persists even four years after randomization. Thus, our estimates show that restorative justice conferencing can reduce recidivism among youth charged with relatively serious offenses and can be an effective alternative to traditional criminal justice practices.


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Supplemental Material

Supplement to "Can Restorative Justice Conferencing Reduce Recidivism? Evidence From the Make-it-Right Program"

Yotam Shem-Tov, Steven Raphael, and Alissa Skog

In this appendix, we discuss various additional analyses to demonstrate the robustness of our results to different decisions and show that the common concerns about experiments with relatively small sample sizes do not apply in this case.  Additional Figures and Tables, and Covariates Adjustment in an RCT Using Auxiliary Observational Data.

Supplement to "Can Restorative Justice Conferencing Reduce Recidivism? Evidence From the Make-it-Right Program"

Yotam Shem-Tov, Steven Raphael, and Alissa Skog

The replication package for this paper is available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8226000. The authors were granted an exemption to publish their data because either access to the data is restricted or the authors do not have the right to republish them. However, the authors included in the package a simulated or synthetic dataset that allows running their codes. The Journal checked the synthetic/simulated data and the codes for their ability to generate all tables and figures in the paper and approved online appendices. However, the synthetic/simulated data are not designed to reproduce the same results.

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