Is Your Lawyer a Lemon? Incentives and Selection in the Public Provision of Criminal Defense
研究美国公设律师制度中，合同制律师代理的贫困被告定罪率更高的原因，发现逆向选择不是主因，道德风险才是关键，为改革提供方向。
Abstract Governments in the United States must offer free legal services to low-income people accused of crimes. To provide these services, many jurisdictions rely on assigned counsel systems, where private attorneys represent indigent defendants on a contract basis. These defendants are more likely to be convicted and incarcerated than defendants with privately retained attorneys. Using detailed court records, we investigate the mechanisms behind this disparity and consider their policy implications. We find that adverse selection among lawyers is not the primary contributor to the assigned counsel penalty. We conclude that reform efforts should address moral hazard in assigned counsel systems.