Working Paper: NBER ID: w21204
Authors: Christopher Blattman; Julian C. Jamison; Margaret Sheridan
Abstract: We show that a number of “noncognitive” skills and preferences, including patience and identity, are malleable in adults, and that investments in them reduce crime and violence. We recruited criminally-engaged men and randomized half to eight weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy designed to foster self-regulation, patience, and a noncriminal identity and lifestyle. We also randomized $200 grants. Cash alone and therapy alone initially reduced crime and violence, but effects dissipated over time. When cash followed therapy, crime and violence decreased dramatically for at least a year. We hypothesize that cash reinforced therapy’s impacts by prolonging learning-by-doing, lifestyle changes, and self-investment.
Keywords: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Crime Reduction; Noncognitive Skills; Cash Grants; Liberia
JEL Codes: D03; J22; K42; O12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) (D91) | reduction in antisocial behaviors (C92) |
| Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and cash grants (E71) | reduction in antisocial behaviors (C92) |
| cash grants following CBT (H81) | sustained reduction in crime (K42) |
| cash grants alone (H53) | no sustained reduction in crime (K14) |
| Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) (D91) | improvements in self-regulation and identity change (D91) |