Would Eliminating Racial Disparities in Motor Vehicle Searches have Efficiency Costs?
研究警察在交通检查中对不同种族司机的搜查率差异，发现平等化搜查率不会降低查获违禁品的效率，反而可能提高。
Abstract During traffic stops, police search black and Hispanic motorists more than twice as often as white motorists, yet those searches are no more likely to yield contraband. We ask whether equalizing search rates by motorist race would reduce contraband yield. We use unique administrative data from Texas to isolate variation in search behavior across and within highway patrol troopers and find that search rates are unrelated to the proportion of searches that yield contraband. We find that troopers can equalize search rates across racial groups, maintain the status quo search rate, and increase contraband yield. Troopers appear to be limited in their ability to discern between motorists who are more or less likely to carry contraband.