Does visitation in prison reduce recidivism?
In: Journal of policy analysis and management: the journal of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, Band 43, Heft 1, S. 126-156
ISSN: 1520-6688
AbstractVisitation in prison is associated with a low recidivism rate after release, but the causality is not clear. This paper tries to estimate the effect of visitation experience on the recidivism outcome of state prisoners in Missouri, using an instrumental variable approach. The instrumental variable used for identification is the distance from a prison to an address before incarceration. The results support that visitation has a causal effect on recidivism in the short run. Further analysis shows that employment is an important channel of the visitation effect. However, no discernible effect on housing stability is found.