An alternative test of racial prejudice in motor vehicle searches: Theory and evidence

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Anwar, S; Fang, HM
• 署名单位: Yale University; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0002-8282
• DOI: 10.1257/000282806776157579
• 发表日期: 2006
• 页码: 127-151
• 关键词: POLICE BEHAVIOR

摘要

We propose a simple model of trooper behavior to design empirical tests for whether troopers of different races are monolithic in their search behavior, and whether they exhibit relative racial prejudice in motor vehicle searches. Our test of relative racial prejudice provides a partial solution to the well-known inframarginality and omitted-variables problems associated with outcome tests. When applied to a unique dataset from Florida, our tests soundly reject the hypothesis that troopers of different races are monolithic in their search behavior, but the tests fail to reject the hypothesis that troopers of different races do not exhibit relative racial prejudice.