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Library ID

  • 022404

Other Information

  • Published 2007.
  • 58 pages.

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Optimal Bail and the Value of Freedom: Evidence from the Philadelphia Bail Experiment

Publication year: 2007 | Cataloged on: Jul. 14, 2007
ANNOTATION: "This paper performs a cost-benefit analysis to determine socially optimal bail levels that balance the costs to defendants against the costs to other members of society" (p. 1). Sections of this article following an abstract are: introduction; background; conceptual framework; data and descriptive evidence; econometric methods; results according to cross-sectional probit estimates, instrumental variables estimates, estimates of the value of freedom, calculation of the socially optimal bail amount; and conclusion. Typical defendants would pay $1,000 for 90 days of freedom.
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