American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
An Alternative Test of Racial Prejudice in Motor Vehicle Searches: Theory and Evidence
American Economic Review
vol. 96,
no. 1, March 2006
(pp. 127–151)
Abstract
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 infra-marginality 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.Citation
Anwar, Shamena, and Hanming Fang. 2006. "An Alternative Test of Racial Prejudice in Motor Vehicle Searches: Theory and Evidence." American Economic Review, 96 (1): 127–151. DOI: 10.1257/000282806776157579Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- K42 Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law