Thread by @AaronChalfin

What happened when the Chicago created a program to divert drug arrestees to treatment? New research by Ashna Arora & @PankaBencsik finds that more people got treatment and public safety improved.
drive.google.com/file/d/1QSxrv7… 👇

When asked how social planners should address the opioid crisis and addiction more generally, many people will evangelize the benefits of treatment. But how do you get the most inframarginal people into treatment? It's a challenge.

For better or worse, this is a population that often finds itself ensnared in the criminal justice system. Can the CJ system be a conduit to get more people into treatment and can these efforts ultimately improve public safety? Ashna & Panka find that Chicago was able to do so.

Ashna & Panka compare eligible arrestees to ineligible arrestees in treated vs. comparison districts using a DDD design. As a result of the program, eligible arrestees become much more likely to be connected with a treatment provider and to be released without a charge:

What happens to public safety? Eligible arrestees are 15% less likely to be subsequently arrested for a drug offense and 17% less likely to be re-arrested for a violent offense. Here's the event study for any re-arrest. These are ITT estimates. TOT estimates are even larger.

This compliments recent work by @AmandaYAgan, @annalilharvey & @jenniferdoleac on misdemeanor prosecution (nber.org/papers/w28600) & @Econ_Mike & @KSchnepel on diversion programs (academic.oup.com/restud/article…), which suggests that for some offenders a lighter touch is most effective.

Panka is a post-doctoral researcher @UChiUrbanLabs and is currently on the job market. In addition to this paper, she has a phenomenal pipeline of research on high-impact topics which you can learn about here: pankabencsik.com